The New Forest and the Isle of WightWith eight plates and many other illustrations . wn wood in a forest when he pleased, and to have his owneyries of hawks, sparrow-hawks, falcons, eagles and herons. It grantedpermission to drive pigs and cattle through the forest, and let themspend a night on the kings land, with other privileges, which wereprobably the origin of many forest rights now claimed in thedistrict. Are we then to conclude that the hardships suffered by theinhabitants of the Ytene, the Saxon name of the New Forest, werelimited to such as were incidental to the enforcement of forest
The New Forest and the Isle of WightWith eight plates and many other illustrations . wn wood in a forest when he pleased, and to have his owneyries of hawks, sparrow-hawks, falcons, eagles and herons. It grantedpermission to drive pigs and cattle through the forest, and let themspend a night on the kings land, with other privileges, which wereprobably the origin of many forest rights now claimed in thedistrict. Are we then to conclude that the hardships suffered by theinhabitants of the Ytene, the Saxon name of the New Forest, werelimited to such as were incidental to the enforcement of forest laws ?Such a consolinganswer can scarcely be given. In spite of the inaccuraciesof the form in which it has come down to us, the tradition of thewasting of this particular forest and the confiscation of land^ are toounanimous to be disregarded. Freeman quotes an instance of confiscation from Dcmesday. The sons of GodricRalf hold under the King at Minstrad. Their father had three hides and a half ofland. Now his sons have only half a hide. The rest of the ground is in the lo THE NEW FOREST The stiffness and cruelty of such a course are too much inkeeping with the character of the king, who turned into a desertthe whole district between the Humber and the Tees. The forestwas perfectly suited by site and soil for Williams purpose, and itis difficult to doubt that in its afforestation hardships were inflicted,which were remembered long after the general hatred of the Normanshad died away. But it must not be forgotten that thouo;h the rigours of the forestlaws as a means of preserving game relaxed, the protection given bythem to the woods was never withdrawn, and it is to them that weowe the preservation of the ancient timber until the present laxly administered, as in the days of Charles I. and the Common-wealth, the woods have been invariably destroyed ; when enforced, asby James I. and later in the days of William III. the trees have increased,and descended to
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Keywords: ., bookauthorcornishc, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookyear1903
