30 Germany. 
the kings forbade trespass under penalty of severe fines; 
the king’s ban (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 fishing, that is, 
to establish banforests was in the 10th century extended 
by the kings to territory not belonging to them, the 
chase being according to the Roman construction a regal 
right over any property. Under this conception fields 
and pastures, woods and waters, and villages with their 
inhabitants became “inforested” grounds. The Norman 
kings imbued with a passion for the chase exercised this 
right widely, especially in England, the forests of Dean, 
Epping and the New Forest being such inforested terri- 
torities, the inhabitants of which were placed under spe- 
cial “forest laws.” 
Presently the king’s right of ban was granted with 
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 (Obver- 
marker, 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- 
