ANCIENT AND MODERN FORESTRY 37 



The chief local officers of the forests were the 

 Stewards, Verderers, Foresters, Regarders, Agistors, 

 and Woodwards. The Verderers (Viridarii) were 

 the judicial officers of the forest, sworn to keep the 

 assizes and laws, and to receive and enrol present- 

 ments and attachments regarding all manner of tres- 

 pass or of offence against vert and venison. They 

 were Judges of Record in the Swainmote, hearing 

 the complaints of the Foresters, and keeping the 

 rolls of matters to come before the Justice in Eyre ; 

 and they had also to decide in each case whether 

 the accused should be released at large (main- 

 prise), or only on bail till the day of trial. The 

 Verderers were expected to be men learned in 

 the forest law, but they were provided with a 

 more learned Steward or technical adviser to assist 

 them in coming to proper decisions as to bailable 

 and non-bailable offences. There were usually 

 four Verderers for each forest, chosen from among 

 the esquires and men of good estate. 



The Foresters (Forestarii) were the officers 

 sworn to preserve the vert and venison within 

 the forest, who were appointed either by letters- 

 patent, or else by paying to the king a fee-farm 

 rent for their office, which looks very suggestive of 



