Hides, Hundreds, Shires, Counties, Duchies

Though it may sound strange to us, the measure of a Realm was in its land, and not its people.  It was less important the who of the Realm, & more important the productivity of the land in the Realm.  Land was Wealth; land was Power.  Specifically, it was political power.  We can see this is true when we think of the words “Real Estate,” meaning that the only thing that counts in an inheritance is the land!  

Therefore, as you should read through the descriptions of the following political & administrative divisions of the land, do not concern yourself so much with the numbers of Men and others who can live there, but rather the numbers who could ideally live there, for that is the true measure of land’s productivity, and therefore political power.

On the Numbers of Men in each Borough

Good agricultural land supports as many as 20 families per sq. mi.  Poor agricultural land may support as few as 8 at full occupancy.

A Hide is 20-80 acres of arable land; enough to support one family of 4-10 people. (For game purposes, we presume 5 people per family.)

A Hundred as they tell it is 100 Hides.  Sometimes it is called a Clan-Hold, because most or all of the families are of a clan.

A Shire has within it 2-8 Hundreds.

A County has 2-4 Shires.  Each has a capitol city of its own, from which the Count oversees his holdings.

A Duchy is some number of Counties.  Some Duchies are independent states.

All the Duchies together a Realm do make.

These are the “perfect” sizes of these boroughs, as they are told at Court.  In reality, there are more or fewer people in these boroughs as Time and Nature shall determine.  

The Other Parts of the Land

In addition to any land belonging to the PC himself, there are three other kinds of valuable land within any Domain.

There is the demesne, or Crown Land, the land directly owned by the King; which is wrought by the Sheriff and his Men, who then go forth to collect the tax.  These lands are not only agricultural, but also have within them Manor houses, Game Preserves, Forests, &c.  They range from naught to thirty-five hundredths of the whole land.

From this land a Prince or King may grant a treasure hunter his Barony in exchange for money or service.

There is the glebe, or church furlong, which is wrought to support the parish.  The Church’s Men then go forth to collect the tithe.  These lands are between ten and thirty hundredths of the whole land.

There is the Lord’s Waste, some five-hundredths of the whole land, which is given over to infrastructure and common pasture.

Therefore, up to seventy one-hundredths of the whole of the useful land may be taken up by things other than peasants!

Of course, only the peasantry & the land they work counts toward the wealth of the local Lord.  The rest of it can be considered waste in terms of its economic value to the Player-Character Lord of a Dominion.  In order to make the calculations easier, we presume that half of a hex in civilised land and a quarter of a hex of borderland is taken up by these other land uses.  

Wilderlands are by their nature free of these other land uses, but should your Wilderland domain become Borderland, you can be sure the Church & King will want their piece!

On the Sizes of the Boroughs

Ten Hides can be made from one square mile of land.

A Hundred is about 10 sq. mi.

A Shire is one-half to 4 six-mile hexes.

A County is one to 16 six-mile hexes.  

A Duchy is made up of some number of Counties, up to 64 six-mile hexes.  The largest of these are called Grand Duchies.

On Waste Land

These are minimum sizes for each of these boroughs.  In reality, the physical size of each borough is larger.  After drawing out the map of your Realm, you shall see which land is suitable for counting towards the total of each Hide or Hundred and which is not.  Do not confuse relatively useless land (desert, barren mountain, swamp &c.) with the Lord’s Waste.  The Lord’s Waste is land he has built infrastructure upon- only he himself sees this as a waste!  It is actually invaluable to the denizens of that part of the realm.

On the Rulers of the Boroughs

A Hide is ruled by the head of the household.  Ten Hides together appoint a Freeman or Free Speaker to represent them at the local Hundred Court.  Sometimes, this is a warrior of some renown.  Usually however, it is an elder with the gift of eloquence.

A Hundred is ruled by an Ealdor (when elected), or Baron (when title is taken or bestowed).  Sometimes it is called a Barony.

A Shire is ruled by a Sheriff (appointed by the King) or Thegn (elected by the Hundred Court).  Sometimes one of each kind rule together in concert.

A County is ruled by a Count, who is usually the most powerful landowner, but sometimes is the leader of the military.

A Duchy is ruled by a Duke, who can claim clear noble, or even royal, lineage.  At times, pretenders will fabricate such proof; it’s the claim that matters.

The Realm together is ruled by a King, unless…

If the Realm is a client state to another, it is ruled by a Prince.

If the Realm is an empire, it is ruled by an Emperor, and the countries within it are ruled by Kings, Archdukes, Dukes and Princes.