Both the terms ‘Forest’ and ‘Chase’ meant hunting grounds and were terms used in legal documents and disputes from the Medieval period onwards. Outlaws, such as Robin Hood, were defined as a person committing an offence in a forest in which he did not live - and thereby being outside of the protection of the law. If you are nerdy like me and want to find out more, there is a comprehensive online glossary of these terms made by Oxford University.The modern perspective of hunting of Medieval hunting forests is of great swathes of trees. but in the Medieval period it meant a place that was outside normal laws. Famous examples include the New Forest and Notthingham Forset and in my local area Selwood, Grovely and the Cranborne Chase .
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