The Formation of the English Common Law: Law and Society in England from King Alfred to Magna Carta (The Medieval World)

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Editor’s preface to the first edition
Author’s preface to the first edition
Author’s preface to the second edition
Abbreviations
Chapter 1: Introduction
	The concept of law
	The functions of law
	Disputing and negotiating
	English common law
	The formation of the English common law
Chapter 2: The court framework in Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman England
	The king’s court
	Local and itinerant justices
	Shire courts
	Hundred courts
	Seignorial courts
	Urban courts
	Ecclesiastical courts
	Conclusions
Chapter 3: Violence and theft in Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman England
	Bricstan’s case
	Offences, offenders, and motives
	Feud, vengeance, and royal control
	Prevention and police
	Trial
	Punishment and compensation
	Conclusions
Chapter 4: Law and land in Anglo-Saxon England
	Æscwyn of Stonea, Ogga of Mildenhall, Wulfstan of Dalham and their gifts to the church of Ely
	The forms of land
	Land, lordship, and law
	The customary framework
	Disputes
	Conclusions
Chapter 5: Law and land-holding in Anglo-Norman England
	Land, lordship, and law
	The forms of land-holding
	The customary framework: control of land held ‘in fee and inheritance’
	Disputes
	Anglo-Norman land law and common law property
	Conclusions on legal development to 1135
Chapter 6: Angevin reform
	Kingship, Stephen’s reign, and Angevin reform
	The eyre
	Chronology
	The stages and nature of reform
	Henry II and reform
	The administrator’s mentality
	Conclusions
Chapter 7: Crime and the Angevin reforms
	Ailward’s case
	Classification
	The continuation of traditional methods
	Presentment and the extension of royal authority
	The limits of royal authority
	Conclusions
Chapter 8: Law and land-holding in Angevin England
	Abbot Samson of Bury St Edmunds
	New procedures
	The impact of change
	Conclusions
Chapter 9: Magna Carta and the formation of the English common law
	King John and the administration of justice
	Magna Carta
	Law and legal expertise
	The common law
	Concluding comparisons
Glossary
Note on sources
Further reading
Index