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 A HISTORY OF RUTLAND The pleas of venison held at Oakham on 3 March 1 208-9 ^""^ ^^' ^""""^'^ '" '^s'^ ^7 ^^• Turner.' The regarders ' of both Rutland and Leicestershire were all in mercy (that is, at the mercy of the court, to be fined at pleasure) be- cause of neglect of their duties. The knights of Rutland gave a verdict that at the summons by the justices of the forest all men of Leicester- shire ought to attend the pleas who dwelt out- side the forest as far as 3 miles. Ralph de Martinvast was fined the great sum of 20 marks on account of his son being found on the high road within the forest with a bow without a string. The foresters found part of a hart in the house of Henry the son of Lefsi ; on being asked whence it came he said that the king's hunters gave it to him ; but the foresters suspected that he had carried away a hart which the king had killed in the forest, but which had been lost. The township of Oakham was in mercy because they did not produce Robert, the servant of the Earl of Hereford, whom they had pledged. The township of Egleton was in mercy for absence from the eyre. The sheriff of Rutland was also in mercy because he had not the prisoners who were delivered to him by the hands of the foresters to guard. A regard, or careful inquiry into the condition of this forest, was ordered in 12 19 preparatory to holding the Forest Pleas.^ In 1 21 9 Henry III sent Richard de Brade- mare, his huntsman, to the forest of Rutland with his two grooms, one berner, one ventrer, two horses, eighteen running dogs, and six grey- hounds. The sheriff was ordered to see to all their expenses, to provide them with salt for curing the venison, and to arrange for its carriage.' The king sent his mandate in 1 22 1 to Brian de Insula, who was the justice of this forest, to release John Marshall, esquire (vad/etus) of the Bishop of Lincoln, at that prelate's intercession, from gaol, where he had been placed for taking a hart, and if Marshall and his groom had been released on pledge to forfeit the pledges.* In 1223 Brian de Insula was instructed to permit the Bishop of Lincoln to take three does in Rutland Forest.' After the great storm of 1222 had swept over England separate letters were addressed to the foresters and verderers of both Rutland and ' Turner, Select Pleas of the Forest, 6, 7, citing Forest Proc. Exch. T.R. no. 249. ' As to the respective duties of regarders, verderers, foresters, and other forest ministers, as well as to the loc.il courts and the Forest Pleas, see Cox, Ro^al Forests, passim. ' Close, 3 Hen. Ill, m. 7. The berner was a man who had charge of the running hounds, whilst the ventrer was in charge of the greyhounds. ^ Close, 5 Hen. Ill, m. 13. ' Ibid. 7 Hen. Ill, m. 6. Leicestershire as to the disposal of the windfall and uprooted trees.' Hasculf de Hathelakestun was at that time keeper or warden of this forest. In 1 23 1 Hasculf de Nevill was directed by the king to allow the men of Peter Fitzherbert to gather .nuts on one day in each year throughout the Rutland Forest, for Peter's use, according to custom.' Theobald de Bellehus was granted ten oaks in the following year out of this forest for his manor-house of Wikingeston (Whissen- dine), the trees to be taken where they would be the least missed, and where they would be con- veniently drawn to his manor.'" Forest Pleas were held at Oakham on the morrow of the feast of Trinity 1256, before William Briton and three other justices. There were thirty-eight fines levied for venison offences, varying in amount from 40J. to is. The definite presentments for poaching seem to show that fallow deer largely predominated in this forest ; nine of the charges were for taking bucks, three for does, and one for a brocket ; whilst there was a single charge as to the taking of a hart and another concerning a red deer calf. There was also a single case in which a roe deer was concerned. Every opportunity was taken at this eyre to secure amercements or fines. Thus almost all the townships appear to have com- mitted some technical offence de venatione ; under this head the township of Leigh was fined 2s. and that of Glaston half a mark. It is interest- ing to note the remarkable fluctuation of the acorn crop in different seasons. Thus in 1252 the pannage receipts, as returned by the agistors, amounted to ;^I0 Js. ^d. ; in 1253, "'^ /"" defectum pesson ; in 1254, 1 31. bd. ; and in 1 255, Forest Pleas were again held at Oakham in June 1269. The principal business that came before the justices on the latter date were the serious charges of extortion and damage made against Peter de Neville. The chief forester and the foresters and other knights and good men of the two counties testified on oath that since the last eyre — which was held thirteen years before, namely in 1256 — Peter de Neville had continually appropriated to himself nuts, mast, and windfall, together with thorn, hazel, and such-like small vert, and kept dogs and grey- hounds on the unlawful pleas of taking hares, foxes, rabbits, and wild cats ; that he had appropriated escape of beasts and received fines for hare and rabbit po.iching that ought to have gone to the king ; that he had imprisoned men and bound them with iron chains for trifling forest trespasses and had released them on pay- ment of fines ; that he had taken 24 marks from Richard of Whitchurch for taking a buck « Pat. 7 Hen. Ill, m. 6. ^ ° Close, 16 Hen. Ill, m. 19. ■"Ibid. m. 12. " Forest Proc. Exch. T. R. no. 139. 252
 * Pat. 3 Hen. Ill, m. 4d.