On account of this, in the woodlands reserved for hunting, which he called the “New Forest”, he had villages rooted out and people removed, and made it a habitation for wild beasts’. In a similar vein Henry of Huntingdon recorded that ‘he loved the beasts of the chase as if he were their father. The compiler of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle noted that William. William the Conqueror and his sons were notorious in their devotion to hunting. At this stage it seems likely that the protection of hunting rights was still of paramount importance. In Normandy the strict preservation of game was confined to the ducal demesne, but the conquest of England offered a unique opportunity to extend the sphere of influence. This changed with the arrival of William the Conqueror. 1 It was not a function of kingship, rather the prerogative of the landed. By Jane Winters, Institute of Historical Researchīefore the Conquest the kings of England enjoyed the right to hunt freely on their own lands, but in this they did not differ significantly from any other landowner.
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