Traditional counties of Scotland

The counties or shires of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachdan na h-Alba) are geographic subdivisions of Scotland established in the Middle Ages. They ceased to be used for local government purposes after 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

Today, local government in Scotland is based upon "council areas", which sometimes incorporate county names, but frequently have vastly different boundaries. Counties continue to be used for the purpose of lieutenancy and land registration purposes, though the lieutenancy areas are not entirely identical.

Malcolm III (reigned 1058 to 1093) appears to have introduced sheriffs as part of a policy of replacing previous forms of government with Norman feudal structures.

This policy was continued by Edgar (reigned 1097 to 1107), Alexander I (reigned 1107 to 1124), and in particular David I (reigned 1124 to 1153). David completed the division of the country into sheriffdoms by the conversion of existing thanedoms. The earliest sheriffdom south of the Forth which we know of for certain is Haddingtonshire, which is named in a charters of 1139 as Hadintunschira and in another of 1141 as Hadintunshire.Stirlingshire appears in a charter of 1150 under the name Striuelinschire.

The shires of the Highlands were completed only in the reign of King Charles I (reigned 1625 to 1649).

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