Hudson, John
The Formation of the English Common Law, London, 1996, 288pp.
ISBN: 058207027

 

Contents
Editor's Preface			ix
Author's Preface			xi
Abbreviations			xiiii
	1	Introduction	1
		The concept of law	2
		The functions of law	7
		Disputing and negotiating	8
		English common law	16
		The formation of the English common law	19
	2	The Court Framework in Anglo-Norman England	24
		The king's court	27
		Local and itinerant justices	31
		Shire courts	34
		Hundred courts	37
		Seignorial courts	40
		Urban courts	47
		Ecclesiastical courts	48
		Conclusions	50
	3	Violence and Theft in Anglo-Norman England	52
		Bricstan's case	53
		Offences, offenders, and motives	57
		Prevention and police	61
		Trial	69
		Punishment and compensation	77
		Conclusions	83
	4	Law and Land-Holding in Anglo-Norman England	86
		Land, lordship and law	87
		The forms of land-holding	89
		The customary framework: control of land held in fee	94
		Disputes	105
		Anglo-Norman land law and common law property	116
		Conclusions	116
	5	Angevin Reform	118
		Kingship, Stephen's reign, and Angevin reform	118
		The eyre	123
		Chronology	126
		The stages and nature of reform	139
		Henry II and reform	144
		The administrator's mentality	146
		Conclusions	155
	6	Crime and the Angevin Reforms	157
		Ailward's case	159
		Classification	160
		The continuation of traditional methods	166
		Presentment and the extension of royal authority	175
		The limits of royal authority	180
		Conclusions	184
	7	Law and Land-holding in Angevin England	186
		Abbot Samson of Bury St Edmunds	187
		New procedures	192
		The impact of change	205
		Conclusions	218
	8	Magna Carta and the Formation of the English Common Law	220
		King John and the administration of justice	221
		Magna Carta	224
		Law and legal expertise	227
		The common law	230
		Concluding comparisons	237
Glossary			240
Note on sources			249
Further reading			253
Index			261

 

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