Series 1 > Journals of Sir John Lauder, Lord Fountainhall, with his observations on public affairs and other memoranda, 1665-1676

122
JOURNAL OF JOHN LAUDER
any to chasse or kil under the pein of a fine 500 francks,
except only the King and some few others, great peirs, who
have their permission from the King.
Nether is it permitted for all indifferently to hunt, clergy¬
men are decharged it. Peasants also. Its confessed also by al
that Kings may discharge their subjects the pastime and
pleasure of hunting, especially thess who holds their lands in
fief immediatly of the King, which he called fiefs royalles,
whom he may hinder to hunt in their oune ground, ower which
they have ful power otherwise to sel it, woodset it, gift it, or
do wt it what I please: the same power have the inferior
seigneurs. Lords in giving lands to vassals, men who have
bein serviceable to them in many occasions whom they cannot
recompence in mony, they give them a tennement of land, they
usualy retain the right of hunting in these lands only to
themselfes.
Halking in France is a excercise not permitted to any under
a gentleman.
We have sein its not permitted to al to hunt; also its not
permitted to hunt al beasts; also its not permited now to
hunt indifferentley in al places. The Kings keips their parks
filled wt wild beasts, wheir its not leasum for any to hunt but
themselfes, as Fontainbleau and St. James Park. The nobility
have also the same right of keiping sick parks; as witnese
upon the rode bothe of England and France we meit wt
noblemens incloseurs wheir would [be] 2 or 300 dears.
Yea, in France its not lawful to shoot wt the gun in another
mans ground; so that if a man take another guning in his
ground, he usualy takes the gun from him and breaks over
his shoulders. If he can hinder a man to shoot in his ground,
much more may he hinder him to hunt, since the on is more
praeiudicial to him then the others; for its done wt greater
noice, also does more damnage to the cornes or wines.
What might be the reasons that have moved the Princes
to hem in so narrow bounds the rights of Hunting by the
right of nature and civil Law so patant to all are to be found
in Vesembec,1 paratitlo de acquir\endo\ rerum dominio. 1, For
1 Matthew Wesenbec, Dutch jurist, 1531-1586.