Norman Conquest Encyclopedia

New Forest

With the establishment of the Normans on the English throne came a change in concept in land law. All land was subject to the king, and thus the use of the land was his to decide. This was the basis for declaring immense, though usually lightly-populated, tracts of land to be Royal Forest. The forest laws forbad the hunting of all game, deer, boar, hare, etc and made the carrying of weapons suitable to killing game, bows and arrows, for example, unlawful as well as forcing owners to have their dogs "lawed", that is, de-clawed so that they could not chase game. The imposition of the forest and their laws was a major cause of resentment among the English. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that William the Conqeror "established a great peace for the deer, and laid down new laws therefore, that whoever should slay hart or hind should be blinded" He also ordained concerning the hares, that they should go free" he recked not of the hatred of them all, but they must wholly follow the King's will, if they would live, or have land, or even his peace." The New Forest was an area in south-western Hampshire which was, at its centre, barren and uncultivated land, but by various means it was extended and the inhabitants thrown off their land. For the common people nothing was more foreign than the concept of the Royal Forest.