28 OUR FORESTS AND WOODLANDS 



several provinces, as they had no power to dele- 

 gate their duties to deputies ; but at a later date 

 deputies were allowed. 



Beneath a park in degree came the Warren 

 (Warrenus)) a franchise or place privileged either 

 by royal grant or by prescription ' for beasts and 

 fowls of warren only' or small game. Offences 

 committed in chases, parks, and warrens were 

 punishable under Common Law, while the Forest 

 Law applied, from Henry III.'s time, only to the 

 royal forests. 



The Forests or royal hunting grounds consisted 

 of * Vert and Venison? The former comprised the 

 highwood, the underwood, and the turf; while 

 the latter included the beasts of the forest, chase, 

 and warren. The beasts of the forest were the 

 hart, hind, and hare ; those of the chase were the 

 buck, doe, and fox; while those of the warren 

 were the hare, rabbit, pheasant, and partridge. 

 As the greater included the less, the forest was 

 a sanctuary for the beasts of the warren, the park, 

 and the chase. Later on, when they began to get 

 scarce, wild boar and wolf were also permitted to 

 find a sanctuary within the royal forests. 



Under the Norman kings the Forest Courts 



