The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1885-10-22
william the! Conqueror and the Eng
iieh EDreatS.

William the Conqueror. like King
Canute, ''took much Delight in Hunt
ing, and" according to eighteenth CEN
tury historians, chad such 8 Fury for
gratifying that Passion that he reserved
all Hunting and Sporting in his Forests
to himself, or to such as he thought
proper to indulge" These chroniclers
then proceed to give terrible picture
of the King depopulating large tracts
of Hampshire in order to form 8 New
Forest. although he already had sever
al in the country-''turning out all the
Inhabitants. destroying the Houses.
stood in that tract of land in order to
make it desert" This view OF VIII
liam's conduct with regard to the New
Forest has fallen before modern exam
ination of the district. The Kettle
and West Saxon barrows are still to be
seen; the sites of the dwelling of the
Romans are clearly visible. The pot
ter's work, left carelessly upon the
| ground by the Roman potters, is found
| undisturbed and unbroken but few
| inches below the surface. What can
| account for the total disappearance OF
| every trace of these houses and church
/ es which William destroyed-some 90
churches, as it is stated in certain
%
of villages to house the people who
worshiped there The only two church,
es entered in 'sDomesday," those at
Brockenhurst and Milford, still stand;
and Immediately after the afforestation
two new ones were built in the very
heart of the wild forest, one at Boldre
and one at Horde. Most of the seas
tles''in the forests were merely earthen
intrenchments made by the Kelts and
West Saxons: and though q few for
est names end in ton, which indicate
the existence of some scattered home
steads, many more end with hurst,
which means wood Then there arc
such names as Roydon, the rough
ground; Bramshaw, the brambleWood;
Denny, the furry ground; Stockleigh,
the woody place; and Staneswood,
Arnewood, and Testwood. Modern
authorities consider that William did
not commit the folly of turning high
: ly cultivated district into desert,
where the deer would have found Nc
shelter for many years; but that b:
simply converted wild woodland intC
q royal forest. Ytene. the ''furzy coun
try" became the New Forest A grea
| part of this district which he afforesteC
j he already held in demesne- 1t all nov
: became subject to forest laws. Their
were inhabitants, ONcu hdAOISS nIIAAI
the forest: these had to submit to it
o rule, and were also granted its priv
leges. In the Charta de Foresta of Ca
mute mention is made of horses, COWS
q and wild goats, which were protects
Q in the forest, and also of certain priv
!, leges of the people So, under VIII
lam. there were homesteads to whic
, rights were attached of pasturing ca
9 tie, feeding swine, and cutting of tin
n Der and turf. Severe laws existed
respect to hunting the deer. as they di
j, in the days of Canute. But it is yer
e doubtful whether William did not ratl
err benefit the district in making it
royal forest than otherwise. He W.
D. hated because he wished to make of Il
z. English a race of slaves; and in the TO
+ est it was we'll understood to be muC
he lighter offense to kill a man than
le deer. And so the story grew of b
D. cruelty and tyranny. In this fore
William the Red was killed, and b
brother and nephew; the records
-, their strange and sudden deaths a
=. very unsatisfactory, and tradition b
III attributed them to the vengeance
u Heaven, visiting William the Conque
ne or's cruelty upon his descendants.
d, seems most probable that Rufus W
at the victim of conspiracy, and tn
% his brothers. and nephew s deaths we
merely accidents in name.-1he En-
G. Essh Illustrated Magazine.