Description
“An Historical Dictionary of Forestry and Woodland Terms” describes the special words used by those working or hunting in England’s woodlands and forests from the early Middle Ages until the present. The author does not simply give the meanings of words: he describes the customs and practices to which they refer, and frequently adds quotations from contemporary sources, the latter ranging from medieval royal charters and Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” to such books as Taylor’s “Common Good for the Improvements of Commons” (1652) and Jefferies “Wildlife in a Southern County” (1879). From this dictionary the reader will not only learn the meaning of such terms as pismires, perambulation, furlong and quaking ash, but will find brief histories of the forest courts of the Middle Ages, and the lawing of dogs. Long entries describe such complex procedures as bark stripping, dishing and dressing and the care and exploitation of the coppice. Many words and practices described here survived until the recent past and some are still in use today. This book should be welcomed by everyone interested in the history of English rural life, in which woodlands and forests have played, over the centuries, such a vital role.
