Wolves and Other Mammals Hunted in Medieval English Forests

This chapter looks at the medieval hunting licences preserved in the English chancery rolls. Over 200 of these hunting licences can be found dating to the the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (1199-1399 CE). These granted favoured individuals the right to hunt hares, foxes, badgers, wildcats and wolves, although not normally deer, which were preserved for the royal hunt. In this chapter the hunting licences are mapped, to show the wide distribution of the species mentioned across medieval England. The hunting licences referring to wolves are analysed in more detail and contextualised as some of the last reliable evidence for the species' presence in England.