
Charter of the Forest - benbreen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_of_the_Forest
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CalRobert
If you liked this, you might enjoy a discussion of old Irish law about the
Lords and commoners of the wood as well. [http://www.forestryfocus.ie/wp-
content/uploads/2013/02/Trees...](http://www.forestryfocus.ie/wp-
content/uploads/2013/02/Trees-in-Early-Ireland.pdf)

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kensai
""Forest" to the Normans meant an enclosed area where the monarch (or
sometimes another aristocrat) had exclusive rights to animals of the chase and
the greenery ("vert") on which they fed. It did not consist only of trees, but
included large areas of heathland, grassland and wetlands, productive of food,
grazing and other resources."

I adore this definition. Forest is so important for modern living as well,
although we do not use it necessarily directly for grazing or resources, but
as a weekend safe haven from the hectic city life.

Sure, I am "grazing" my local forest with my MTB on the weekends, but in a
much more eco-friendly way. It fills up my batteries for the coming working
week. :)

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KineticLensman
Yes, as in the New Forest [0] in southern England (where 'new' refers to its
creation in 1079). Even today it has some complex and ancient usage rights.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Forest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Forest)

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peteretep
I feel like there’s some context missing here on why the king signed this into
law? Benefits for commoners are obvious, but the benefits for the king less so

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notahacker
The king at the time was nine years old, and facing a rival claim to the
throne from a French prince. His unpopular late father had been forced into
signing the Magna Carta a couple of years earlier. His regent's decision to be
generous (and to actually uphold Magna Carta and not punish all the nobles who
had fought against either king) was probably a smart one. It's not like
royalty particularly suffered from the common man foraging in their forests.

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DFHippie
The calligraphy in that document blows my mind.

