Scirgerefa

Scirgerefa is an Old English term meaning “shire-reeve.” It referred to the royal official in charge of a shire in Anglo-Saxon England. The word combines scir, meaning “shire,” with gerefa, meaning “reeve” or official, and is the etymological ancestor of the modern sheriff.

The scirgerefa acted as the king’s representative in the county, responsible for administration, justice, and revenue. Duties typically included collecting taxes such as geld, raising local forces, maintaining the peace, and enforcing royal writs. In many counties the sheriff presided over the shire court and supervised enforcement through local officers.

Origins of the office date to the early medieval period, with earlier reeves serving as local administrators and tax collectors. The office continued after the Norman Conquest; sheriffs became the Crown’s principal representatives in counties, with duties consolidating around revenue collection, judicial functions, and the muster of men for the king. The precise balance of power varied by region and period.

Today the term survives in the English word sheriff as the name of county-level law-enforcement officials in some countries and as a historical term in others.