Anglo-Norman words

(This 'word of the month' is written by Maud Becker, Ph.D. student and part of the Anglo-Norman Dictionary Project) ( The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek MS 78 D40) Hunting was one of the favourite pastimes of the medieval nobility, and this is reflected in the great number of treatises written, both in Latin and in the vernacular, about hunting in general, and, more specifically, about the fine art of falconry. In about 1079, William the Conqueror decided to designate a large portion of the country as the royal forest or hunting space – what is still known nowadays as the New Forest – much to the frustration of the English, as the following passage of the Continuation of the  Brut , illustrates: Meis quant il pout repos aver, Volentiers volt solacer E a bois e a river. Deduit quere sovent, Meis a ceo ke lui fust avis Les forez furent trop petiz. Plus voleit aver salvagin E as bestes norir plus de guastin. Pur enlargir son deduit, Un grant païs ...