VOL. XVIII. (3) THE COURT OF ATTACHMENT 229 



The ancient Courts of the Forest were three in number : 

 (i) the Court of Attachments ; (2) the Swanimote Court ; 

 (3) the Court of the Chief Justice in Eyre. The last of these 

 has since 1824 ceased to exist altogether, and the second 

 court has been merged in the first. This, the Court of Attach- 

 ments, was always held every forty days. At it the Verderers 

 attended and entered on their rolls all presentments made by the 

 Foresters, Regarders, and other Forest officials. The Swani- 

 mote Court was held three times a year," 15 days before Michael- 

 mas ; about the Feast of St. Martin ; and 15 days before the 

 Feast of St. John the Baptist." Manwood says all the Free- 

 holders within the Forest owed " suit and service " to this Court, 

 and that it was so called " because this word, mote, in Norman 

 speech is properly called a Court, and this word Swaine in 

 the Saxon's speech, is a Bookeland-man, which at this day is 

 taken for a Charterer, or a Freeholder." At this Court the 

 Verderers were the judges, but they could inflict no penalty 

 where the damage done exceeded 4d. In other cases they 

 heard the charge, and if they held that the charge was proved 

 they presented the offender to the third Court, the Court of 

 the Chief Justice in Eyre, which was a High Judicial Court, 

 assembled within the Forest once every three years, by Order 

 of the Lord Chancellor. At this Court all offenders presented 

 by the Swanimote Court were sentenced, and many other 

 matters relating to the Forest were enquired into and adjudi- 

 cated upon by the Lord Chief Justice in Eyre, who was said 

 to be " commonly a man of greater dignity than knowledge 

 in the Laws of the Forest," and there were therefore associated 

 with him Assessors as the King might appoint. 



Manwood, who wrote in 1665, says quaintly enough, 

 " If any man chance to be bidden to his friend's house to eat 

 his part of fat venison, let him remember this old verse : — 



" It is not to be enquired whence venison cometh. 

 For if by chance it stolen be, 

 A good belief sufficeth thee." 



Thus, in his day, the Forest laws had lost most of their 

 stringency, and the only Court that is still held, the only hnk 

 with a very picturesque, but very barbarous part of English 



