Politically the kingdom was divided into townships, hundreds
(districts furnishing a hundred warriors, or supporting a hundred
families), and shires or counties, the shire having been originally,
in some cases, the section settled by an independent tribe, as Sussex,
Essex, etc.
In each shire the King had an officer, called a shire reeve or
sherrif,[1] who represented him, collected the taxes due the Crown,
and saw to the execution of the laws. In like manner, the town and
the hundred had a headman of its own choosing to see to matters of
general interest.
[1] Reeve: a man in authority, or having charge of something