Re: Wapentake (was Re: Hundred Meaning?)

Wapentakes (written also as 'Wapentac') are the ancient divisions of the
northern counties of Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, possibly
originating from as far back as the Danes. These units roughly correspond to the
Hundred of the West Saxon and Mercian counties. The word is Scandinavian and
refers to the brandishing of weapons to signify assent in a popular assembly
or meeting. The functions of the Wapentake were substantially the same as
those of the Hundred, involving the managing or ruling of a hundred households or
families. At present Derbyshire has only one Wapentake, ' Wirksworth' shown
in Youngs as a Hundred, Lincolnshire is mainly made up of Wapentakes with a
few Hundreds, whilst Yorkshire and Nottingham are made up of Wapentakes. The
counties of Cheshire and Cumberland also retained traces of Wapentakes into
the twentieth century
http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/types/status_page.jsp?unit_status=Wap
Regards Stan Mapstone
www.mapstone.org

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