Manwood's first essay on
forest law entitled
A Brefe Collection of the Lawes of the Forrest was circulated privately in 1592. It was revised, enlarged, and published by
Thomas Wight and
Bonham Norton in 1598 as
A Treatise and Discourse of the Lawes of the Forrest. This underwent numerous subsequent editions, most notably in that of 1615 by the
Societie of Stationers, a version which included material from the
Brefe Collection which was not included in the 1598 version. Manwood's book remained a standard reference on forest law through the mid-1900s. His
Treatise has become perhaps the most-cited secondary source of
forest law. As such it is quoted approvingly by Sir
William Blackstone in his
Commentaries on the Laws of England. However, although Manwood's work is considered by
Blackstone to be authoritative, others have pointed out that Manwood, being himself a royal officer, had an interest in amplifying the institutions he described. It has also been pointed out that these institutions had in his time largely fallen into desuetude, and his descriptions may be partly artificial and fanciful. Manwood was the great great great grandfather of Sir
Nicholas Conyngham Tindal,
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1829 to 1843. ==Note==