THE FOREST OF PICKERING 117 



forest, he was held responsible for the value, and was further 

 fined the sum of .5. Three servants of the prior of Bridling- 

 ton felled, for the use of the prior, a green oak by night in 

 Fulwood value 2d. They were caught whilst carrying it away 

 in a wagon worth 40^., drawn by four oxen, worth in all 

 1 6s. 8d., and were handed over to the late prior to be pro- 

 duced at this eyre. The present prior was held responsible, 

 and in addition to the loss of wagon and oxen was fined 2s. 

 One of the servants was dead, and the two others, who had 

 been released on bail, did not appear. Their bail was ordered 

 to be forfeited, when it was found that they were all dead. This 

 was evidently an old case that had probably occurred soon 

 after the last eyre ; but the vert roll, unlike that for venison, 

 unfortunately gives no dates. There are several other instances 

 of forfeiture of wagons and oxen ; in these the value was 

 much lower than in the prior's case, for the other wagons are 

 all valued at 6d., and the oxen in sums varying from 2s. 8d. to 

 3-r. ^d. each. 



The various cases of cattle taken within the forest that were 

 unagisted since the last eyre, included upwards of 150 different 

 charges. Such cattle were impounded by the forest ministers, 

 and as a rule their value was paid to the lord ere released. 

 These sums appeared in the annual accounts of the forest. It 

 seems that the usual course was for all these cases to be brought 

 before the eyre, but that no further proceedings were generally 

 taken if it was shown that the value-fine had been paid at the 

 time. 



The fines for non-appearance on the first day of this pro- 

 tracted eyre were astonishingly numerous. They were 

 evidently levied according to the position of the offender, 

 and the extent of his rights within the forest. Thus the prior 

 of the Hospitallers was fined 3 ; Henry de Percy and Thomas 

 Wake, 2 ; William Latimer, i los. ; and the abbot of 

 . Rievaulx and Sir Richard de Ros, i. There were several 

 fines of 3^. 4^., and others of is. 8d. In thirty-two cases there 

 were is. fines, whilst 6d. was the forfeit paid by nearly 300 

 persons. The townships of Pickering and Goathland were 

 fined i for non-appearance of their four men and reeves 

 on the first day, and four other townships smaller amounts. In 

 about a dozen cases there was no fine on account of poverty. 



