the sheriff and the forest

• What was the role of the sheriff in anglo-saxon society?

  • responsible for law and order in their shire
  • responsible for gathering together the fyrd
• What was the role of the sheriff in norman society?

  • controlled their shire and answered to the king
  • made new laws that punished anti-norman rebellion
• Why were some sheriffs resented?

  • they 'squeezed' the locals for more money because they got to keep a share of the revenues
  • sheriffs were involved in many land grabs and their power meant victims could do very little to get their land back
• Why was royal forest resented?

  • local people were evicted from the area
  • forest laws protected the animals that were hunted which meant harsh punishments for anyone caught poaching the animals
• what was the significance of the royal forest?

  • harsh punishments like blinding for breaking forest laws show the brutal side to norman rule
  • made the land grabs of other normans seem more legitimate