Howdenshire was far more than a Wapentake! Last year I acquired "Bloodfeud, Murder and Revenge in Anglo-Saxon England" by Richard Fletcher which contains not only a history of Howdenshire but a map of it. To quote from the book: "In Yorkshire there were entities which are called "Multiple Estates" which may be defined as a unit of agrarian exploitation organized round a central settlement to which the inhabitants of outlying subsidiary settlements, sometimes a considerable distance away, are required to render goods and services, and at which they must attend to observe legal and administrative routines. One such multiple estate in the south-east of Yorkshire was based at Howden. These were valuable estates, extending over several thousand acres apiece and comprising varied resources in arable, pasture, woodland, marshes and rivers. No less than ten miles separated the most north-westerly outlier of Howden, at Ricall on the River Ouse, from the most south-easterly at Yokefleet on the Humber. Multiple estates went under various names in early medieval England. In Northumbria they were most commonly, if confusingly known as "shires," the word being often tacked onto the name of the central place as in Allertonshire, Howdenshire, Weltonshire, Richmondshire, Hexhamshire, Norhamshire and so on." Howden lies southeast of York near the river Ouse and is easily found on a map of Yorkshire. I intend including this information, including the map, in Exploring the Origins of the Sisson Surname when I get back to working on it. For those who are interested in the Anglo Saxon period of English history - I recommend this very interesting book - which is available in paperback thru Amazon or Borders. David Rorer ----- Original Message ----- From: <Nyartunltd@aol.com> To: <sisson-l@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 7:01 PM Subject: Re: [SISSON] Snaith - wapentake? >From Wikipedia: A wapentake is a term derived from the _Old Norse_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Norse) vápnatak _[2]_ (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1O27:wapentake/wapentake.html?refid=ip_hf) , the rough equivalent of an _Anglo-Saxon_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxons) hundred. The word denotes an administrative meeting place, typically a crossroads or a ford in a river where attendance or voting would be denoted or conducted by the show of _weapons_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon) . The _Danelaw_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danelaw) counties of _Yorkshire_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire) , _Derbyshire_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derbyshire) , _Leicestershire_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leicestershire) , _Northamptonshire_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northamptonshire) , _Nottinghamshire_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottinghamshire) , _Rutland_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutland) and _Lincolnshire_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincolnshire) were divided into wapentakes, just as most of the remainder of _England_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England) was divided into hundreds. In Yorkshire, a Norse wapentake usually replaced several Anglo-Saxon hundreds. This process was complete by 1086 in the North and West _Ridings_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riding_(division)) , but continued in the East Riding until the mid 12th century. Melba LaRose In a message dated 2/18/2008 6:39:12 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, benoni@cen turytel.net writes: We had been discussing the 1379 poll tax of Howdenshire, Yorkshire, England which contained the names of several Sissons. I have found that Howden is only "nine miles from Snaith." This would make it seem more logical that our Sissons did come from Snaith, since the poll tax was in the same shire. What is meant by "Snaith in the wapentake of Osgoldcross, liberty & bailiwich ....?" I have never seen the word wapentake before. I know what a bailiwick is, but I may have to write to my English friend, to explain wapentake. I hope you are able to go to the site of the (Norman) church in Snaith. I would also suggest viewing the (Church Crawler site) by Phil Draper. Almost every Parish has an old Norman church, and they are very beautiful. Mary Jo ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SISSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message Melba NY Artists Unlimited **************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living. (http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/ 2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598) ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SISSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message