Who Poache The King's Deer By Jean Brirrell Summary

Assignment 1 HSTR220A
Birrell, Jean. “Who Poached the King’s Deer? A Study in Thirteenth Century Crime,”
Tyrus Reynolds
775 words
Jean Birrell’s “Who Poached the King’s Deer? A Study in Thirteenth Century Crime” narrates the illegal hunting of forests which were supposed to be under the protection of English monarchs from a period of approximately mid thirteenth century to fifteenth century England. The study covers forest laws enacted by monarchs after the Norman invasion, the difference between ‘respectable’ poachers and peasants looking to feed themselves, the way in which such poachers were punished, and the impact of events relating to poaching and forest laws during the period of study. However, Birrell’s seems to believe that Norman
Conquest was the catalyst for forest laws in England; but Judith Green’s “Forest Laws in England and Normandy in the Twelfth Century” suggest that a foundation for post-Norman Invasion forest laws had been lain out by the Anglo-Saxton kings.
According to Birrell, Norman kings created Forest Laws to protect the vert –forest– and deer. Forest Law hindered the lives of peasants, who required hunting to supplement their meager diet; whereas, for gentry, hunting was an affirmation of social status to those ranked higher in the feudal order. Forest law was overseen by officials –foresters, wardens, verderers– and a court known as the Eyre. Eyre was held at intervals of four years, and presided over by the Justice of the Forest. At these courts of Eyre, there were kept a series of records, or rolls, which recorded all offences presented at the trials. Birrell claims that it is these documents which she bases her study on. An interesting point about forest law is that, according to Birrell, it brought in an additional income to the Norman monarchy, a poacher’s tax if you will.
In her study, Birrell pinpoints Norman Conquest to be a catalyst for forest laws; however, in her paper “Forest Laws in England and Normandy in the Twelfth Century” Judith Green contends that there was a semblance of laws pertaining to the rights and punishments of poachers in Anglo-Saxton England. Specifically, in the Anglo-Saxton Chronicle, Green mentions that those caught poaching deer or boars were punished. What can be taken from this evidence is not that Anglo-Saxton monarchs of England had created forest laws, which Norman invaders inherited; but that in their own way, Anglo-Saxton England attempted to control a poaching culture in the same way that Norman monarchs did.
Birrell also differentiates between the kinds of poachers in her paper. She references poachers of a lower class who required the practice to live; poachers of higher gentry who viewed the practice as more of a social status confirmation; and poachers who were themselves foresters, and poached under the guise of fulfilling their duties. Birrell places poachers of the first two categories as the primary offenders of poaching. Furthermore, foresters, especially higher ranked ones, were often bribed by gentry to allow them uninhibited hunting on what was supposed to be protected forest.
Birrell’s paper also goes over the potential punishment for those caught poaching.
These punishments began as incarceration until a fine was paid or deposits for good behaviour for serious offences. These punishments evolved into cash fines only, with these fines being weighed against the offender’s ability to pay them.
Birrell concludes her paper by assessing the impact of poaching and forest laws in England. She recounts that protected forest land shrank in the century following its inception. She states that the royal claim to deer was replaced by a private claim to deer on the part of the lords, who claimed the deer in their land for themselves.
In her paper “Who Poached the Kings Deer? A Study in Thirteenth Century Crime” Jean Birrell brings the reader to thirteenth century England, when forest laws were created by Norman monarchs. Birrell analyzes the impact of poaching and illegal felling of trees in vert protected by the king. She elaborates on the difference between ‘respectable’ hunters and peasants. Furthermore, she assesses the fiscal punishment given to poachers. However, Birrell was incorrect to assert that Norman invasion began forest laws in England because Anglo-Saxton kings had punishments in their laws to deal with poachers.
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