10 THE POEESTS OP ENGLAND. 



tainers, his billmen and bowmen, his hunters, his 'born 

 thralls,' and his swineherds, he indulged ia that coarse 

 gross, plentiful way of living, and almost unlimited hospi- 

 tality, which characterised his race. The forest enabled 

 him to be generous and profuse, for it then abounded with 

 game. His mornings were spent in the chase, pursuing the 

 boar and the deer ; and his evenings in boisterous mirth, 

 and often excessive drinking, in his old halls, surrounded 

 by his retainers and by trophies won from the forest 

 game. A wandering minstrel or a holy pilgrim occasionally 

 enlivened the scene ; and often the mirthful troop was 

 brokea up by a hasty summons ' to arms,' to defend 

 themselves from the attacks of organised and almost 

 licensed robbers, or to march to the assistance of the king. 

 No books shed their influence over these assemblies ; and 

 even Christianity had scarcely had time to eradicate all 

 traces of the old pagan superstition. But there were 

 other mansions besides those of the nobles in the pleasant 

 places of the forests. The clergy had (about the time of 

 the Norman invasion) obtained possession of nearly one- 

 third of the country, and in the most agreeable spots, 

 amid shady woods and by silvery rivers, had erected their 

 religious houses. Many forest districts belonged to them j 

 and traces of their claims on forest produce lingered long 

 in the history of our country. Many a band of outlaws, 

 living by plunder, found refuge in those days in the 

 forest ; and many a holy man, disgusted with the world 

 around him, sought refuge in the forest, where, 



' Far in a wild remote from public view, 

 Prom youth to age the reverend hermit grew ; 

 Eemote from man, with God he passed hia days, 

 Prayer all his business, all his pleasure praise.' " 



To the usages of these times it is that we are indebted 

 for the legal and technical use made of the word Forest 

 in England. 



It might prove interesting to trace the application made 

 of the term forest to different descriptions of woodlands, 



