The Forest Charter and the Scribe: Remembering a History of Disafforestation and of How Magna Carta Got its Name

Abstract

In medieval England ‘forest’ did not have the same meaning as it does today but defined large areas of land governed by severe forest laws which Magna Carta had failed to temper. Instead, these were addressed two years later in the Charter of the Forest 1217 which, although a companion charter to the 1217 Magna Carta reissue, remains relatively unknown. This article by Alison Million explores the Charter of the Forest; its history, impact and legacy and considers why and to what extent its memory has been lost in time. It explains how the Charter of the Forest, and the pen of an unwitting scribe, contributed towards the name Magna Carta; a name which has just seen its octocentenial anniversary.