Everything about Bailiwick totally explained
A
bailiwick is the area of jurisdiction of a
bailiff. The term was also applied to a territory in which the
sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a Crown grant. The word is now more generally used in a
metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of authority, experience, activity, study, or interest.
The term originated in
France (
bailie being the
Old French term for a bailiff). Under the
ancien régime in France, the
bailli was the king's representative in a
bailliage, charged with the application of justice and control of the administration. In southern France, the term generally used was
sénéchal (cf
seneschal) who held office in the
sénéchaussée. The administrative network of
baillages was established in the 13th century, based on the earlier medieval fiscal and tax divisions (the 'baillie') which had been used by earlier sovereign princes (such as the Duke of Normandy). (For more on this French judicial system, see
bailli,
prévôt and
Early Modern France.)
A bailiwick was also the territorial division of the
Teutonic Order.
In English, the original French
bailie was combined with '-wic', the
Anglo-Saxon suffix meaning a village (cf.
vicar), to produce a term meaning literally 'bailiff's village' - the original geographic scope of a bailiwick. In the
19th century, it was absorbed into
American English as a metaphor for one's sphere of knowledge or activity.
The term survives in administrative usage in the
Channel Islands, which for administrative purposes are grouped into the two bailiwicks of Jersey (comprising the island of
Jersey and uninhabited islets such as the
Minquiers and
Écréhous) and Guernsey (comprising the islands of
Guernsey,
Sark,
Alderney,
Brecqhou,
Herm,
Jethou and
Lihou). Each Channel Island bailiwick is headed by a
Bailiff.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Bailiwick'.
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