John Manwood facts for kids

John Manwood, who passed away in 1610, was an important person during the time of Elizabeth I of England. He worked as a barrister (a type of lawyer) at Lincoln's Inn. He was also a gamekeeper for Waltham Forest. Plus, he served as a special judge, called a Justice in Eyre, for the New Forest. He was related to Sir Roger Manwood, who was a very high-ranking judge at the time.

John Manwood: Expert on Forest Law

John Manwood became famous for his knowledge of "forest law." This was a special set of rules about royal forests. These forests were lands owned by the King or Queen. They were used for hunting and other royal activities.

His Important Books

Manwood first wrote a short paper about forest law in 1592. It was called A Brefe Collection of the Lawes of the Forrest. He shared this paper privately with others.

Later, he made this paper much bigger and better. It was published in 1598 as A Treatise and Discourse of the Lawes of the Forrest. This book became very popular. It was printed many times over the years. A new version came out in 1615. Manwood's book was considered the main guide for forest law for a very long time. It was used as a reference until the mid-1900s.

Why His Book Was Special

Manwood's book is one of the most quoted sources about forest law. Famous legal experts, like Sir William Blackstone, often mentioned his book. Blackstone even praised it in his own important work, Commentaries on the Laws of England.

However, some people have pointed out something interesting. Manwood himself worked for the royal forests. Because of this, he might have made the rules seem more important than they really were. Also, by his time, many of these old forest laws were not used much anymore. So, his descriptions might have been a bit old-fashioned or even a little bit made-up.

A Quick Note About John Manwood

Sometimes, John Manwood is confused with his relative, Sir Roger Manwood (1525–1593). They had similar names and lived around the same time.