ANCIENT AND MODERN FORESTRY 37 
The chief local officers of the forests were the 
Stewards, Verderers, Foresters, Regarders, Agistors, 
and Woodwards. The Verderers (Virtdarit) 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 
