Considering his love of power and strength of will, the reign of
William was conspicuous for its justice. He was harsh, but generally
fair. He protected the Jewish traders who came over to England in his
reign, for he saw that their commercial enterprise and their financial
skill would be of immense value in developing the country. Then too,
if the royal treasury should happen to run dry, he thought it might be
convenient to coax or compel the Jews to lend him a round sum.
On the other had, the King seized a tract of over sixty thousand acres
in Hampshire for a hunting ground, which he named the New Forest.[1]
It was said that William destroyed many churches and estates in order
to form this forest, but these accounts appear to have been greatly
exaggerated. The real grievance was not so much the appropriation of
the land, which was sterile and of little value, but it was the
enactment of the savage Forest Laws. These ordinances made he life of
a stag of more value than that of a man, and decreed that anyone found
hunting the royal deer should have both eyes torn out (S205).
[1] Forest: As here used, this does not mean a region covered with
woods, but simply a section of country, partially wooded and suitable
for game, set apart as a royal park or hunting ground. As William
made his residence at Winchester, in Hampshire, in the south of
England (see map facing p. 38), he naturally took land in that
vicinity for the chase.