Table of Contents
Editor’s Preface to First Edition Author’s Preface to First Edition
Author’s Preface to 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
Prevention and police
Trial
Punishment and compensation
Conclusions
CHAPTER 4 Law and Land-holding in Anglo-Saxon England
Æscwynn 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
Disputes
Anglo-Norman land law and common law property
Conclusions
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