Since the Norman Conquest of 1066<\/a>, England\u2019s kings had been able to seize swathes of forest and turn them into hunting grounds, or Royal Forests, meant exclusively for their use. (It\u2019s worth noting that at this time, a \u2018forest\u2019 was not quite what we would think of today \u2013 it could also refer to heaths, moorland, fields and even villages and towns in rural areas.) This had deeply frustrated the barons, who were unable to develop land unless the king granted them the right to do so.<\/p>\n It also caused great misery for the common folk, who had traditionally used the forests to sustain themselves \u2013 cutting down trees for firewood and to build their huts; gathering water from streams; foraging for vegetables, fruits and nuts; and hunting the game that darted through the undergrowth.<\/p>\n The Charter contained 17 clauses, which were all centred around issues connected to forest land. It drastically reduced the amount of Royal Forest, by vowing that all land that had been claimed as royal hunting grounds by Henry II<\/a>, King John<\/a> and Richard the Lionheart<\/a> would be \u201cdisafforested\u201d if it was not legally part of their estates. It also reinstated the forest\u2019s status as common land, meant for the use of the community.<\/p>\n According to the Charter, \u201cevery free man\u201d could gather firewood there and was entitled to \u201cconduct his pigs through our\u2026 wood freely and without impediment\u201d. Moreover, every person that resided in the forest was allowed to \u201cmake in his wood or in land he has in the forest a mill, a preserve, a pond, a marl-pit, a ditch, or arable outside the covert in arable land, on condition that it does not harm any neighbour.\u201d<\/p>\n Thus, the Charter took power out of the hands of the king and returned it to the people who lived and worked in the forests. This was a watershed moment in England\u2019s history: rights had been granted to the nobility and clergy before, but never to the common people.<\/p>\n In 1215, when Magna Carta<\/a> (then called the \u2018Charter of Liberties\u2019) was sealed by King John, it included four clauses related to the Royal Forests: as well as signalling improvements to the enforcing of Forest Law, there was also a vow to turn the Royal Forests John had created back into common land, as well as the riverbanks he had claimed for his own.<\/p>\n However, the document was quickly repealed, and in 1217 the new boy king \u2013 Henry III \u2013 issued a fresh version. This time, though, there was one major change. All four clauses relating to the forest were removed from the original document, expanded upon and put into a new charter: the Charter of the Forest.<\/p>\n At the time, this newly created charter was seen as just as important as Magna Carta. While Magna Carta was largely devoted to the problems that affected society\u2019s elites, the Charter of the Forest was more useful to everyday people \u2013 most of all for those whose homes were in, or close to, a Royal Forest.<\/p>\n In 1066, William the Conqueror<\/a> and his Norman followers totally transformed England\u2019s forests. William brought the French tradition of Royal Forests \u2013 land that was marked out as royal hunting grounds, where the monarch could come to shoot deer and spear fish \u2013 to his newly conquered territory. These Royal Forests sprung up all over England: by 1086, around 25 of them had been created, including Sherwood Forest and the New Forest.<\/p>\n The kings who succeeded William continued this practice, with each monarch creating more Royal Forests. Henry II in particular claimed huge swathes of land, as he apparently found great solace in his monumental hunting grounds. His royal treasurer, Richard fitz Nigel, commented: \u201cIn the forests are the kings\u2019 retreats and their greatest delights. For they go there to hunt, leaving their cares behind, to refresh themselves with a little rest.\u201d<\/p>\n By the early 13th century, approximately one-third of southern England had been turned into Royal Forests \u2013 and those who lived in them had to adhere to the onerous Forest Law. This law was meant to protect the royal hunting ground \u2013 from the animals living there that the king would wish to hunt, to the trees that game would shelter below. Therefore, according to Forest Law, no one living on land that was designated a Royal Forest could impinge on its suitability as a hunting ground.<\/p>\n People were prohibited from constructing buildings, hunting animals or fish, cutting down trees or bushes, and putting their animals out to pasture. The Peterborough Chronicle<\/em> stated of the Forest Law: \u201cPowerful men complained of it and poor men lamented it.\u201d Royal foresters were tasked with making sure that these strict regulations were followed \u2013 and those who broke Forest Law often faced serious consequences.<\/p>\n Punishments were often extreme: according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle<\/em><\/a>, King William I decreed that the killing of deer and boar in his hunting grounds was strictly forbidden, and anyone who slew a deer \u201cshould be deprived of his eyesight\u201d. And during Richard the Lionheart\u2019s rule, anyone who killed a deer would be blinded and mutilated \u2013 although Richard was only in England for a handful of months throughout his entire reign, and he rarely went on hunts when he was in the country.<\/p>\n As well as corporal punishment, fines were often imposed on those who broke Forest Law. If a royal forester couldn\u2019t track down the individual who had flouted Forest Law, they could fine the whole community. These hefty fiscal penalties went straight into the royal coffers: John, for example, received a large portion of his income from them.<\/p>\n The Charter of the Forest lessened the severity of punishments, although the killing of deer was still deemed illegal, as they all belonged to the monarch. As the tenth clause of the Charter stated: \u201cNo one shall henceforth lose life or limb because of our venison, but if anyone has been arrested and convicted of taking venison he shall be fined heavily if he has the means; and if he has not the means, he shall lie in our prison for a year and a day.\u201d<\/p>\n The Charter has the accolade of being the longest-standing statute in England\u2019s history. On 11 February 1225 Henry III issued his final version of Magna Carta \u2013 along with a revised version of the Charter of the Forest, which is now regarded as the definitive version.<\/p>\n It was reissued numerous times after this, including in 1297, when Edward I<\/a> reconfirmed it and Magna Carta in the Confirmation of the Charters. He declared that the two documents would become England\u2019s common law, and twice a year they both should be read out loud in every cathedral in the land.<\/p>\nWhat changes did the Charter of the Forest herald?<\/h3>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>How is the Charter of the Forest linked to Magna Carta?<\/h3>\n
How did the Normans change the use of forests in England?<\/h3>\n
William the Conqueror brought the French tradition of Royal Forests to his newly conquered territory. These sprung up all over England <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
What were the punishments for breaking Forest Law?<\/h3>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>How long did the Charter of the Forest remain part of English law?<\/h3>\n