Origins of the Common Law
Written for the beginning student as well as the experienced scholar, this introductory analysis of the origin and early development or the English common law provides and excellent grounding for the early study of legal history. Between 1154, when Henry II became king, and 1307, when Edward I died, the common law underwent spectacular growth. The author begins with a discussion of the relationship between the early rules of common law and the social order they serve during this period and...
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Written for the beginning student as well as the experienced scholar, this introductory analysis of the origin and early development of the English common law provides an excellent grounding for the study of legal history. Between 1154, when Henry II became king, and 1307, when Edward I died, the common law underwent spectacular growth. The author begins with a discussion of the relationship between the early rules of common law and the social order they served during this period and concludes with an extended commentary on the durability and continued growth of the common law in modern times.
Preface xiii Chapter 1 Introduction: Social Change and the Growth of the Common Law 3\ LAW AS THE BOND OF CIVIL SOCIETY 3\ GROWTH OF THE WRIT SYSTEM 15\ PART ONE THE POLITICAL SCENE Chapter 2 Royal Centralization and Absolutism 33\ HENRY II: SUPREME ADMINISTRATOR OF THE REALM 34\ RICHARD THE LIONHEARTED: ABSENT KING 45\ JOHN: IRRESPONSIBLE ABSOLUTIST 45\ Chapter 3 Royal Prerogative and the Community of the Realm 56\ HENRY III: DUPE OF ALIEN COUNSELORS 57\ EDWARD I: "HAMMER OF THE SCOTS" AND RELUCTANT CONSTITUTIONALIST 67\ PART TWO THE SOCIAL ORDER Chapter 4 Free Tenures and Their Obligations 85\ THE THEORY OF THE BODY POLITIC 86\ FEUDALISM: LORD AND VASSAL 91\ Chapter 5 Unfree Tenures and Their Obligations 114\ THE MARKS OF UNFREE TENURE 116\ PATTERNS OF AGRARIAN LIFE 122\ SEIGNORIAL COURTS 131\ OFFICERS OF MANORIAL ADMINISTRATION 132\ PUBLIC DUTIES OF THE VILE 135\ PART THREE LEGAL INSTITUTIONS Chapter 6 Courts of Angevin England to 1307 145\ THE EVOLUTION OF COURTS 147\ Chapter 7 Chancery: Secretariat and Writ-Shop 166\ CHANCERY OFFICIALS 177\ CHANCERY RECORDS 180\ PART FOUR THE NATURE AND SOURCES OF THE COMMON LAW Chapter 8 Sources of English Law in the Middle Ages 185\ WHAT THE COMMON LAW IS NOT 186\ WHAT THE COMMON LAW IS 188\ THE NATURE OF LEGAL CUSTOM 190\ MEDIEVAL USE OF JUDICIAL PRECEDENTS 200\ ENACTMENTS AND STATUTES 203\ FORMS OF ACTION: THE FRAMEWORK OF THE COMMON LAW 209\ Chapter 9 Enactments of Edward I 216\ REGULATION OF CREDITORS AND DEBTORS 218\ REGULATION OF ESTATES IN LAND 227\ REGULATION OF PURCHASE AND SALE OF FREE TENURES 234\ CONCLUSION: THE MEDIEVAL LEGACY Chapter 10 From Medieval Law to Modern Law 241\ THE VITALITY OF THE COMMON LAW 241\ THE CONTINUING GROWTH OF COMMON LAW 247\ EXPANSION OF THE COMMON LAW 249\ THE LEGACY OF THE MIDDLE AGES 251\ A Glossary for Laymen 255\ Index 259
