A royal forest is an area of land where certain rights are reserved for a monarch or the aristocracy, usually set aside for hunting. The concept was introduced by the Normans to England in the 11th century, and at its peak in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, fully one third of the area of England was designated royal forest. Forest law prescribed harsh punishment for anyone who committed a range of offences within the forests; by the mid-17th century, enforcement of this law had died out, but many of England's woodlands still bear the title Royal Forest.
The term forest does not mean forest as it is understood today, i.e. an area of densely wooded land. Royal forests usually included large areas of heath, grassland and wetland — anywhere that supported deer and other game. In addition, when an area was initially designated forest, any villages, towns and fields that lay within it were also subject to forest law. This could foster resentment as the local inhabitants were then unable to use land they had previously relied upon for their livelihoods.
The practice of reserving areas of land for the sole use of the aristocracy was common throughout Europe during the mediaeval period.
Forest Law
In mediaeval England, many activities were at one time or another prohibited under forest law. These included hunting, inclosure of land, felling of trees, building, the carrying of weapons and the grazing of livestock. In the beginning, punishments for these offences were brutal: blinding or amputation were not uncommon. This evolved into a system of fines; eventually this became a de facto tax, providing a major source of income to the Crown.
Forest law was enforced by foresters, and the fines administered by verderers. These titles still exist today, although they are now largely ceremonial.
Magna Carta
Magna Carta, the charter forced upon King John of England by the English barons in 1215, contained three clauses addressing royal forests. They aimed to limit, and even reduce, the King's sole rights as enshrined in forest law. The clauses were as follows (taken from the text of Magna Carta):
- People who live outside the forest need not in future appear before the royal justices of the forest in answer to general summonses, unless they are actually involved in proceedings or are sureties for someone who has been seized for a forest offence.
- All forests that have been created in our reign shall at once be disafforested. River-banks that have been enclosed in our reign shall be treated similarly.
- All evil customs relating to forests and warrens, foresters, warreners, sheriffs and their servants, or river-banks and their wardens, are at once to be investigated in every county by twelve sworn knights of the county, and within forty days of their enquiry the evil customs are to be abolished completely and irrevocably. But we, or our chief justice if we are not in England, are first to be informed.
Royal forests in England
Last updated: 10-11-2005 11:23:16
