Brewer's: Swanimote

A court held thrice a year before forest verderers by the steward of the court. So called because the swans or swains were the jurymen. (Swans, swans, or sweins, freeholders; Anglo-Saxon, swan or Swein, a herdsman, shepherd, youth; our swain.)

This court was incident to a forest, as the court of pie-powder or piepoudre to a fair.

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