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Simple English definitions for legal terms
hundred
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A quick definition of hundred:
Term: HUNDRED
Definition: A hundred used to be a small area that had its own local court. It was made up of a group of nearby townships and could have been an area taxed at one hundred hides, or had one hundred households, or had to supply one hundred fighting men for national defense. The people who lived in this area were also called the hundred. In the United States, hundreds were political divisions that came from English county divisions and were found in colonial Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Today, they only exist in Delaware.
A more thorough explanation:
Definition: A former county subdivision that had its own local court. It may have consisted of an area taxed at one hundred hides, one hundred households, or an area that had to supply one hundred fighting men for national defense. The populace of such a subdivision is also referred to as a hundred. In the United States, it is a political division derived from the English county division. Today, hundreds exist only in Delaware.
- In medieval England, a hundred was a group of adjoining townships that had its own local court.
- The hundred of Sussex was required to supply one hundred fighting men for national defense.
- Today, the only state in the United States that still uses hundreds as a political division is Delaware.
The examples illustrate how the term hundred was used in medieval England and how it was a political division in the United States. The first example explains that a hundred was a group of adjoining townships that had its own local court. The second example shows that the hundred of Sussex was required to supply one hundred fighting men for national defense. The third example explains that today, hundreds only exist in Delaware as a political division.