Historical Review: The Charter of the Forest is a charter sealed by in England by King Henry III and was part of the great constitutional reforms imposed by his barons upon King John. In contrast to the Magna Carta, it provided rights, privileges and protections for the common man against the abuses of an aristocracy.
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England, 1225- Great Charter of the Forest
The Great Charter of the Forest was issued as a supplementary document to Magna Carta; King Henry III issued several revisions of the base document. Excerpts dealing with commons rights are presented here.

Preface ———————————————

What it says: “That We, unto the Honour of Almighty god, and for the Salvation of our souls of our Progenitors and Successors Kings of England, to the advancement of Holy Church, and amendment of our Realm, of our meer and free will have given and granted to all Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls, Barons, and to all Freemen of this our Realm, these Liberties following, to be kept in our Kingdom of England for ever.”

What it means: The King has agreed to this new charter concerning property rights that are granted to all the people of England, regardless of social class or occupation. The following rights are to be maintained in England forever.

Article 1 ——————————————–

What it says: “We will, that all Forests, which King Henry our Grandfather afforested, shall be view’d by good and lawfull men; and if he hath afforested any other Wood, more than his own Demesne, by which the Owner of the Wood hath damage, it shall be forthwith disafforested; and if he hath afforested his own Wood, then it shall remain Forest: saving the Common of Herbage, and of other things in the same Forest, to them who before were accustomed to have the same”.

What it means: Anyone who isn’t an outlaw can enter areas declared by the King to be forests for hunting game. If the King declared an area a forest, but the area is owned by someone else and that person would rather keep it standard open grazing land, he is allowed to do so. Within the land belonging to the King himself, any area he declared a forest will stay a forest, except that there must still be provided a common area for grazing livestock, for the benefit of the people.

Article 3 ——————————————-

What it says: “All Woods that have been made Forest by King Richard our Uncle, or by King John our Father, until our first Coronation, shall be forthwith, disafforested, unless it be our Demesne Wood.”

What it means: Any land that was turned into a forest (designated hunting area) by the kings since the establishment of the Magna Carta will be turned back into the type of land it was before, except land owned by the King himself. This could be done easily because the land itself was not physically altered to become a forest, but simply declared to be one.

Our Research has been taken from Peter Linebaugh’s “The Magna Carta Manifesto.” University of California Press, 2008.
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How are ideals like this in our current society? If not, could they be implemented to create a more valuable of quality of life?

Next Week: The Great Charter of the Forest (Part 2)