1862: County Divisions: Hundred and Riding Jan 20, 2020

England has 48 counties, but some of the subdivisions are no longer used. For instance, 'ridings' in Yorkshire, 'wapentakes' in the North and Midlands, and 'hundreds' elsewhere. Two of these resemble other words, but a 'riding' has nothing to do with horses; it comes from 'thrithjungr' in Norse ('trithing' in Old English) meaning 'a third' referring to the division of North, East, and West Yorkshire, though the initial sound was assimilated due to the preceding '-th' or '-t' of the actual places. However, a 'hundred' is actually from 'hundred' as the number, but is thought to relate to the area of 100 hides, 1 hide being equal to between 60-120 acres. 'Wapentake' will be discussed in the post tomorrow.

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