forest laws

In England, draconian legislation, enacted mainly during the century following the Norman Conquest, which prohibited common or agricultural use of land deemed to be royal hunting grounds and placed all game in such land under royal protection. Infringement of an order protecting royal forests was severely punished, with harsh penalties including mutilation and even death. It was not even necessary for the land to be wooded and so by the early 13th century almost one third of England was subject to such laws.

The laws became increasingly unpopular during the 12th century, and the Magna Carta 1215 mitigated some of the grievances. The scope of the laws was severely limited by a Charter of the Forest in 1217 which specifically limited the areas designated as forest and replaced the harsher penalties with fines. The legislation continued to be enforced up until the time of the Glorious Revolution in 1688: under Elizabeth and the first two Stuarts, technical infringements were used as a means to raise revenue. The laws were not finally abolished until 1817.