Shires

The timeline on the history of ‘shires’ starts at 1066. There is a lot of history and not much consistency concerning the evolution of shires in Britain, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, who do it differently in each country.

I came away knowing that ‘shire’ morphed into sheriff, and Worcestershire sauce should be pronounced by the following rule -

Individually, or as a suffix in Scotland and in the far northeast of England, the word is pronounced /ʃaɪr/ (rhyming with "fire"). As a suffix in an English or Welsh place name, it is in most regions pronounced /-ʃər/ "shur", or sometimes /-ʃɪər/, a homophone of "sheer". Worcestershire (pronounced WOOS-tuhr-sheer) sauce was originally bottled in Worcester, England, in the 19th century by Lea & Perrins.

An article on the history of counties with lots of maps and a lot of not easily condensed

information about the layers of government which I think answers the question Tom asked can be found at -

-http://jonathan.rawle.org/hyperpedia/counties/history.php

From Wiki-

A shire is a traditional division found in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in Australia.

In Britain, "shire" is the original term for what is usually known as a county; the word county having been introduced at the Norman Conquest. The two are synonymous. Although in modern British usage counties are referred to as "shires" mainly in poetic contexts, terms such as Shire Hall remain common. Shire also remains a common part of many county names.

The first shires were created by the Anglo-Saxons in what is now central and southern England. The word is from Old English, scir, and appears to be allied to shear as it is a division of the land. The system was spread to most of the rest of England in tenth century.

The shire in early days was governed by an ealdorman and in the later Anglo-Saxon period by royal official known as a "shire reeve" or sheriff. The shires were divided into hundreds or wapentakes, although other less common sub-divisions existed.

The first shires of Scotland were created after the English model, possibly beginning in the tenth century. King David I more consistently created shires and appointed sheriffs across lowland Scotland. An alternative name for a shire was a "sheriffdom" until sheriff court reforms separated the two concepts. In Scotland the word "county" was not adopted for the shires. Although "county" appears in some texts, "shire" was the normal name until counties for statutory purposes were created in the nineteenth century.

Shire names in Britain and Ireland

"Shire" can also be used in a narrower sense, referring only to ancient counties ending in "shire". These counties are typically (though not always) named after their county town.

The suffix -shire is attached to most of the names of English, Scottish and Welsh counties. It tends not to be found in the names of shires which were pre-existing divisions. Essex, Kent and Sussex, for example, have never borne a -shire as each represents a former Anglo-Saxon kingdom. Similarly Cornwall was a Welsh kingdom before it became an English shire.

Scottish Gaelic

(Click the map to enlarge)

According to official statistics, the 477 Gaelic-only speakers recorded in 1971 had either become bilingual, or died during the following ten years: because the 1981 census recorded no Gaelic-only speakers left in Scotland. The 2001 Census recorded just under 60,000 people living in Scotland who could speak Gaelic, or 1.2% of the population, the lowest figure ever. The distribution of Gaelic-speakers within Scotland is shown on the map: with the proportion of people able to speak Gaelic increasing steadily as you progress west across the country and especially to the islands: with the highest density, at just under 75%, in northern Lewis.

Source- http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usscotfax/soc/gaelic.html

Scottish Naming Customs

"The general custom, to which there were some variations, was to name children as follows:-

The eldest son after the paternal grandfather
The second son after the maternal grandfather
The third son after the father
The eldest daughter after the maternal grandmother
The second daughter after the paternal grandmother
The third daughter after the mother

Younger children would be named after earlier forebears, but the pattern in their case was less settled."

("In search of Scottish Ancestry" by Gerald Hamilton-Edwards, Phillimore, 1983 Edition).

Scottish surnames occurring most often on the birth, death, and marriage registers in Scotland in 1995.

Rank Name Occurrence

1 Smith 2273

2 Brown 1659

3 Wilson 1539

4 Thomson 1373

5 Robertson 1370

6 Campbell 1361

7 Stewart 1278

8 Anderson 1187

9 MacDonald 980

Religion in Scotland

Scotland is a traditionally Christian nation in which, in the 2001 census, some 65% of the population said they were Christian. The Church of Scotland, or The Kirk, has legal recognition as the national church in Scotland: but, unlike the Church of England south of the border, it is not an "established church", i.e. it is not formally linked with the state.

During the middle ages Scotland showed - by contemporary European standards at least - considerable religious tolerance. It was one of the few states in Europe not to systematically persecute Jews, and in the Declaration of Arbroath of 6 April 1320, the great and the good of Scotland put their name to a document containing the statement cum non sit Pondus nec distinccio Judei et Greci, Scoti aut Anglici, which translates as "there is neither bias nor difference between Jew or Greek, Scot or English".

All in all, the story of the evolution of religion in Scotland does us little credit as a nation. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why, in 2001, Scotland's second biggest religion was no religion at all.

The history of religion in Scotland is fascinating and complicated. More about the history of religion in Scotland can be found at-

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usscotfax/soc/religion.html

and

http://scottishchristian.com/churches/

Traditional Haggis for 12

Traditional Haggis

        1 sheep's pluck (stomach bag)

         2 lb.. dry oatmeal

          1 lb. suet

         1 lb. lamb's liver

         2 1/2 cups stock

         1 large chopped onion

         1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, Jamaica pepper and salt

Boil liver and parboil the onion, then mince them together. Lightly brown the oatmeal. Mix all ingredients together. Fill the sheep's pluck with the mixture pressing it down to remove all the air, and sew up securely. Prick the haggis in several places so that it does not burst. Place haggis in boiling water and boil slowly for 4-5 hours. Serves approximately 12.

Having trouble finding all the ingredients for Haggis? You can try some of these traditional Scottish foods-

Other Traditional Scottish foods:

Scotch broth - barley and vegetable soup

Cullen Skink - cream of smoked haddock soup

Cock-a-leekie - leek and chicken soup served with prunes

Bannocks - oatcakes

Scotch Eggs - boiled eggs surrounded in sausage meat and deep fried in bread crumbs

Birdie - minced steak and onion pie

Clootie Dumpling - a sweet dumpling made with currants, sultanas, cinnamon, brown sugar,

syrup, and ginger

Cranachan - a mixture of whipped cream and oatmeal

Arbroath Smokie - smoked herrin

Dundee Cake - heavy dark fruit cake

Scottish Sheep in the Road

Sheep are very accustomed to cars and generally it isn't necessary to slow down for them, as you would for a horse & rider. However, if they are standing at the kerb, admiring the grass on the other side, it is advisable to slow down in case they decide to wander across. If they are happily munching away, with their backs to the road, they won't budge as you whizz past them at normal driving speed.

Sheep often like to sit or stand in the middle of the road, as the surface absorbs the sunshine, making it a lovely, warm, dry place to sit. Don't destroy the peace and tranquillity by tooting your horn at them, it won't make any difference. Just slow down to a snail's pace and move very, very slowly towards them. Most will generally shift before you make contact but persistent ones will move the second your car touches them. If they still won't budge, jump out of the car and shoo them off.

Source- http://www.glendaleskye.com/location.htm

History of Argyle Socks

Although there are various stories on the origin of these socks, it's generally agreed they first showed up around 1500 as the footwear of the Scottish clan of Campbell in the town of Argyll in Scotland. The clan's colors were green and white, represented in their kilts and later, footwear made of the same cloth. From this simple beginning, argyle socks were born.

Sir Walter Scott, a Scottish writer and poet was largely responsible for immortalizing the argyle pattern when he brought attention to the design in a casual mention in his writings.

Argyle socks first became popular with the masses in the U.S. in 1949 when the president of Brooks Brothers, John Clark Wood, brought them to the states for a new casual look. He became aware of the sock pattern when he saw them on a golfer during a golf tournament he attended in Scotland. As the story goes, argyle patterns were first formed when Scots clansmen cut their traditional tartan plaids on the bias for use as foot coverings, thus creating the unique diamond pattern on the side of the sock.

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland consists of over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

The Scottish flag is the cross of St. Andrew, also known as the Saltire. It is said to be one of the oldest national flags of any country, dating back at least to the 12th century.

The Lion Rampant.

The Royal Standard of the King of Scots, also known as the Royal Flag of Scotland or the Lion Rampant, is the flag used historically by the King of Scots. It remains the personal banner of the monarch and use of this flag is restricted under the Act of the Parliament of Scotland.Despite the legal restrictions concerning the use of this flag, it is often regarded as a second, albeit unofficial, national flag for Scotland, most often seen at sporting events.