Fear in the Forest Read online

  Contents

  Cover

  By Bernard Knight

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Acknowledgements

  Author’s Foreword

  Maps

  Glossary

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  By Bernard Knight

  The Crowner John Series

  CROWNER’S CRUSADE

  THE SANCTUARY SEEKER

  THE POISONED CHALICE

  CROWNER’S QUEST

  THE AWFUL SECRET

  THE TINNER’S CORPSE

  THE GRIM REAPER

  FEAR IN THE FOREST

  THE WITCH HUNTER

  FIGURE OF HATE

  THE ELIXIR OF DEATH

  THE NOBLE OUTLAW

  THE MANOR OF DEATH

  CROWNER ROYAL

  A PLAGUE OF HERETICS

  The Richard Pryor Forensic Mysteries

  WHERE DEATH DELIGHTS

  ACCORDING TO THE EVIDENCE

  GROUNDS FOR APPEAL

  The Tom Howden Mysteries

  DEAD IN THE DOG

  FEAR IN THE FOREST

  A Crowner John Mystery

  Bernard Knight

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  First published in Great Britain by

  Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 2003

  A Viacom Company

  Simon & Schuster UK Ltd

  Africa House

  64-78 Kingsway

  London WC2B 6AH

  This eBook first published in 2014 by Severn House Digital

  an imprint of Severn House Publishers Ltd.

  Copyright © 2003 Bernard Knight

  The right of Bernard Knight to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.

  A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

  ISBN 978-1-4483-0139-3 (ePub)

  Except where actual historical events and characters are being described for the storyline of this novel, all situations in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to living persons is purely coincidental.

  This eBook produced by Palimpsest Book Production Limited Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland

  Acknowledgements

  Over the years that the Crowner John stories have appeared, many people have provided invaluable advice about various aspects of life and law in the late twelfth century. In this book, once again the staff of the West Country Studies Unit at Exeter have been as helpful as usual, as have Professor Thomas Watkin and the staff of the Law Library of the University of Wales Cardiff. My good friend Susanna Gregory, author of the well-known Matthew Bartholomew series of historical mysteries about Cambridge, kindly gave me some more information about medieval dress. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the unfailing interest and encouragement of both my publisher, Kate Lyall Grant and script editor, Gillian Holmes.

  Author’s Foreword

  In medieval times, much of England was appropriated by the kings as Royal Forest, a practice reaching its peak in the twelfth-century reign of Henry II, when almost a third of the country was taken over. Though much of this land belonged directly to the King, the rest did not – but still the monarch wielded his forest regime over it, to the increasing resentment of the barons and other landowners. In fact, this was one of the factors which led to Magna Carta being forced on King John in 1215. Three of its clauses were concerned with limiting the oppression of the forest laws; three years later there was even a separate Charter of the Forest.

  In those days, the word ‘forest’ did not necessarily mean wooded land – it meant areas, including open country, where certain wild beasts and the greenery they fed upon were protected so that the King could have sole hunting rights, to the exclusion of even the owners of the land where the animals roamed. These beasts were carefully classified, the main ones being the ‘venison’ – the hart and the hind (red deer), fallow and roe deer, the hare and the wild boar, lesser game being the fox, marten, wolf, coney (rabbit) and squirrel. All the vegetation, the trees, coppices, bushes and pasture, was known as the ‘vert’, an important distinction from the ‘venison’.

  Apart from the enjoyment of the hunt, which was the main sport of those times, the King gained much financial profit from the forests – from the sale of meat, timber, rights of pasture, building permits and the establishment of forges, tanneries and brew-houses. He could also give, rent or sell these profitable amenities to others, including religious houses.

  To enforce his rights, the monarch established a separate system of forest laws, courts and officers, which was harsh and oppressive. The penalty for killing a deer was mutilation or death, and even gathering firewood could attract a fine or imprisonment. The foresters who policed these lands were notorious for their rapacity and corruption; they usually received no salary and some even paid to hold their jobs, as the opportunities for extortion were so great. In 1204, the landowners of Devon paid a huge sum to King John to give up some of the Royal Forest outside Dartmoor and Exmoor, but at the time of our story a considerable part of the county was still under this iron rule.

  Coroners, established in September 1194, had many legal and fiscal duties involving dead bodies, wrecks, royal fish, fires, assaults, rapes, etc., but could also be given any special investigation on an ad hoc basis, by means of a royal commission, charging them with a particular task on behalf of the King, as happens in this story.

  Apart from a few rare gold coins, the only money in circulation was the silver penny, which was often cut into segments for use as lower denominations. The shilling, mark and pound were not coins, but nominal values, the shilling being twelve pence (equivalent to the present 5p), a mark two-thirds of a pound (about 66p) and a pound 240 pence (100p).

  The language spoken by the common folk in Devon at that time was mainly Early Middle English, unintelligible to us today, but some retained their Celtic tongue, similar to Cornish, Welsh and Breton. The speech of the ruling classes was Norman French, but the Church used Latin, as did virtually all written documents – though only about one in a hundred people could read and write.

  Many of the main characters in this story actually existed in history, such as the sheriff, bishop, archdeacons and burgesses of Exeter – though the coroners were unrecorded until the middle of the next century. The remaining names are authentic for the period and place, almost all being taken from the court records of the Devon Eyre held at Exeter in 1238.

  GLOSSARY

  AGISTERS

  Officers who regulated the use of forest land for ‘agisting’ – pasture and forage for cattle and pigs, for which live-stock owners were charged a rent.

  ALE

  A brewed drink, before the advent of hops – derived from an ‘ale’, a village celebration where much drinking took place.

  APPEAL

  Unlike the modern legal meaning,
an appeal was an accusation by an aggrieved person, often a relative of a victim, against another for a felonious crime. Historically it preceded (and competed with) the Crown’s right to prosecute and demanded either financial compensation or trial by combat or the Ordeal.

  AMERCEMENT

  An arbitrary fine on a person or community by a law officer, for some breach of the complex regulations of the law. Where imposed by a coroner, he would record the amercement, but the collection of the money would normally be ordered by the royal justices when they visited at the Eyre of Assize.

  ATTACHMENT

  An order made by a law officer, including a coroner, to ensure that a person, whether suspect or witness, appeared at a court hearing. It resembled a bail bond or surety, distraining upon a person’s money or goods, which would be forfeit if he failed to appear.

  BAILEY

  Originally the defended areas, sometimes concentric, around a castle keep (‘motte and bailey’) but later also applied to the yard of a dwelling.

  BAILIFF

  Overseer of a manor or estate, directing the farming and other work. He would have manor reeves under him and himself be responsible either directly to his lord or to the steward or seneschal.

  BAILIWICK

  A division of the forest, of which there were four in the Dartmoor forest. Each was under the jurisdiction of a Verderer.

  BOTTLER

  A servant responsible for providing drink in a household – the origin of ‘butler’.

  BURGESS

  A freeman of substance in a town or borough, usually a merchant. A group of burgesses ran the town administration and in Exeter elected two Portreeves (later a Mayor) as their leaders.

  CANON

  A priestly member of the chapter of a cathedral. Also called a prebendary. Exeter had twenty-four canons, most of whom lived near the cathedral. Many employed junior priests (vicars) to carry out their duties for them.

  CHAPTER

  The administrative body of a cathedral, composed of the canons (prebendaries). They met daily to conduct business in the Chapter House, so-called because a chapter of the Rule of St Benedict was read before each session.

  COIF

  A close-fitting cap or helmet, usually of linen, covering the ears and tied under the chin; worn by men and women.

  COMPLINE

  The last of the religious services of the day, usually in late afternoon or early evening.

  CONSTABLE

  Has several meanings, but could refer to a senior commander, usually the custodian of a castle, which in Exeter belonged to the King – or a watchman who patrolled the streets to keep order.

  CORONER

  A senior law officer in each county, second only to the sheriff. First formally established in September 1194, though there is a mention of the coroner in Saxon times. Three knights and one clerk were recruited in each county, to carry out a wide range of legal and financial duties. The name comes from custos placitorum coronas, meaning ‘Keeper of the Pleas of the Crown’, as he recorded all serious crimes, deaths and legal events for the King’s judges.

  COVER-CHIEF

  More correctly ‘couvre-chef’, a linen headcover, worn by women, held in place by a band around the head, and flowing down the back and front of the chest. Termed ‘head-rail’ in Saxon times.

  CURFEW

  The prohibition of open fires in towns after dark, for fear of starting conflagrations. Derived from ‘couvre-feu’, from the extinguishing or banking-down of fires at night. During the curfew, the city gates were closed from dusk to dawn – one thirteenth-century mayor of Exeter was hanged for failing to ensure this.

  DEODAND

  Literally ‘a gift from God’, it was the forfeiture of anything that had caused a death, such as a sword, a cart or even a mill-wheel. It was confiscated by the coroner for the king, but was sometimes given as compensation to the victim’s family.

  DESTRIER

  A large war-horse able to carry the weight of an armoured knight. When firearms made armour redundant, destriers became shire-horses, replacing oxen as draught animals.

  DORTER

  The dormitory of a monastery, abbey or priory.

  EYRE

  A sitting of the King’s justices, introduced by Henry II in 1166, which moved around the country in circuits. There were two types, the ‘Eyre of Assize’ which was the forerunner of the later Assize and latterly Crown Courts, which was supposed to visit each county town regularly to try serious cases; and the General Eyre, which came at long intervals to scrutinise the administration of each county.

  FARM

  The taxation from a county, collected in coin on behalf of the sheriff and taken by him personally every six months to the royal treasury at London or Winchester. The sum was fixed annually by the king or his ministers; if the sheriff could extract more from the county, he could retain the excess, which made the office of sheriff much sought after.

  FLETCHER

  A maker of arrows.

  FOREST

  Strictly, a wild area, with or without trees. The Royal Forests were areas sequestered by the king, whether he owned the actual land or not, where only he could hunt and take the profit from various activities, such as wood-felling, forges, brewing etc.

  FOREST EYRE

  The higher court enforcing forest laws, dealing with all offences against venison and those of vert worth more than four pence. Usually held every three years, after being summoned by letters patent from the king. The sheriff summoned all nobility, forest officers and four members of each township to attend.

  FORESTER

  An officer, similar to a gamekeeper, directly responsible for enforcing the harsh forest laws and taking offenders to the forest courts. He had a groom or page to assist him. He was nominated by the Warden of the Forest, but received no salary – sometimes paying for the privilege of the job, because of the opportunities for extortion. His badge was a horn.

  HAUBERK

  A chain-mail tunic with long sleeves to protect the wearer from neck to calf; usually slit for riding a horse.

  HUNDRED

  An administrative division of a county, originally named for a hundred hides of land or a hundred families.

  JUSTICES

  The king’s judges, originally from his royal court, but later chosen from barons, senior priests and administrators. They sat in the various law courts, such as the Eyre of Assize or as Commissioners of Gaol Delivery. From 1195 onwards, ‘keepers of the peace’ were recruited from local knights, who by the fourteenth century, evolved into ‘justices of the peace’.

  KIRTLE

  A lady’s gown.

  MATINS

  The first service of the religious day, originally at midnight.

  MARK

  A measure of money, though not an actual coin, as only pennies existed. A mark was two-thirds of a pound i.e. thirteen shillings and fourpence (sixty-six decimal pence).

  MUTILATION

  A common punishment as an alternative to hanging. A hand, foot, or genitals were amputated or blinding carried out.

  ORDEAL

  A test of guilt or innocence, such as walking over nine red-hot plough-shares, picking a stone from a barrel of boiling water or molten lead; if burns appeared, the person was judged guilty. For women, submersion in water was the ordeal, the guilty floating!

  PALFREY

  A small, docile horse suitable for use by a woman.

  PAPAL LEGATE

  An official emissary of the Vatican.

  SECONDARIES

  Young men aspiring to become priests, thus under 24 years of age. They assisted canons and vicars in their duties in the cathedral.

  TERCE

  The fourth of the nine services of the cathedral day, usually around nine in the morning.

  TRIAL BY BATTLE

  An ancient right to settle a dispute by fighting to the death. Usually, an appealer (qv) would demand financial compensation from the alleged perpetrator or be challenged to battle.
Women and unfit persons could employ a champion to fight for them.

  VENISON

  The wild animals of the forest which were hunted, protected by the forest laws. They were divided into the ‘beasts of the forest’ – hart, hind, hare, boar and wolf, the ‘beasts of the chase’ – buck, doe, fox, marten, roe and the ‘beasts of warren’ – hare, rabbit (coney), cat, badger, pheasant, partridge, woodcock and squirrel.

  VERDERER

  An administrative forest officer responsible for holding the Attachment Courts every forty days and committing serious offences to the Forest Eyre. He was responsible to the sovereign, not the Warden. There were usually four in each royal forest, one to each bailiwick. His badge was an axe.

  VERT

  The vegetation of the forest – trees, bushes and pasture, the use of which was also subject to the forest laws.

  VICAR

  A priest employed by a more senior cleric, such as a canon, to carry out some of his religious duties, especially the many daily services in a cathedral. Often called a ‘vicar-choral’ from his participation in chanted services.

  WARDEN OF THE FOREST

  The senior forest adminsitrator, appointed by the king, who was responsible for organising the Forest Eyre and who nominated the foresters, but not verderers, who were individually responsible to the king.

  WIMPLE

  Linen or silk cloth worn framing a woman’s face and covering the throat.

  WOODMOTE

  An alternative name for the lowest level of forest courts, usually known as the ‘Attachment Courts’ or the ‘Forty Day’ courts. Sometimes incorrectly called ‘Swainmotes’. Only offences against the vert amounting to less than four pence could be dealt with by these courts; offences against the venison or larger vert offences could only be recorded and referred to the higher court, the Forest Eyre.

  WOODWARDS

  Employed by private landowners to protect the vert and venison, but outside the royal forests. Although they were servants of the landowner, they still had to adhere to the same oaths and codes as the foresters. Their badge was a bill-hook.

  PROLOGUE