30 Germany. 



the kiiigs forbade trespass under penalty of severe fines ; 

 the king's han (interdiction) of 60 shillings being im- 

 posed upon the trespassers. Indeed, by the end of the 

 8th century the word Forst (voorst — foresta) ■which un- 

 til then had been used merely to denote the king's prop- 

 erty was exclusively used to designate any territory in 

 which the hunt had been reserved, not necessarily wood- 

 land (the latter being referred to as silva or nemus). 



This right to reserve the chase and the fishiag, that is, 

 to establish lanforests was in the 10th century extended 

 by the kings to territory not belonging to them, the 

 chase being according to the Eoman construction a regal 

 right over any property. Under this conception fields 

 and pastures, woods and waters, and villages with their 

 inhabitants became "inf crested" grounds. The Norman 

 kings imbued Vidth a passion for the chase exercised this 

 right widely, especially in England, the forests of Dean, 

 Bpping and the New Forest being such inf orested terri- 

 torities, the inhabitants of which were placed under spe- 

 cial "forest laws." 



Presently the king's right of ban was granted wiili 

 the land grants to his barons and to the clergy. Ban- 

 forests also grew up through owners of properties placing 

 themselves and their possessions under the protection of 

 kings or bishops or other powerful barons and giving in 

 exchange this hunting right, and in various other ways. 

 At the same time the headmen of the Mark (Ober- 

 m'arher, Graf, Waldgraf), who from being elected offi- 

 cers of the people had become officials of the king, began 

 to exercise, by virtue of their office, the jurisdiction of 

 the king and declaring the ban for their own or their 

 friends' benefit, excluded the Markers from their an- 



