GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 241 



wild beasts and fowls of forest, chase, and warren, to 

 rest and abide there in the safe protection of the 

 king, for his delight and pleasure; which territory 

 of ground so privileged is meered and bounded with 

 unremoveabie marks, meers, and boundaries, either 

 known by matter of record or by prescription ; and 

 also replenished with wild beasts of venery or chase, 

 and with great coverts of vert * for the succour of 

 the said beasts there to abide ; for the preservation 

 and continuance of which, there are particular offi- 

 cers, laws, and privileges, belonging to the same, 

 requisite for that purpose, and proper only to a forest 

 and to no other place. Mamv. 40. 



Purlieu comes from the Frencli pur, clear, entire, 

 and exempt, and lieu, a place; that is, a place en- 

 tire, clear, or exempt from the forest ; and signifies 

 those grounds which Henry II., Richard I., or king 

 John, added to their ancient forests, over other men's 

 grounds, and were disafforested by the statute of 

 charta deforests 4 -Inst. 303. Manw. 318. 



But, nevertheless, the purlieu as to some purposes 

 is forest still, and is disafforested as to the particular 

 owners of the land, and for their benefit, and rot 

 generally to give liberty to any man to hunt the wild 

 beasts, and spoil the vert. And if those beasts escape 

 jut of the forest into the purlieu, the king hath a 

 property in them still against any inan but the owners 



* Vert comprehends every thing which bears green loaves 

 the forest. 



