The Formation of the English Common Law (2^nd Ed.)
Law and Society in England from King Alfred to Magna Carta
The Medieval World Series

The Formation of English Common Law provides a comprehensive overview of the development of early English law, one of the classic subjects of medieval history. This much expanded second edition spans the centuries from King Alfred to Magna Carta, abandoning the traditional but restrictive break at the Norman Conquest. Within a strong interpretative framework, it also integrates legal developments with wider changes in the thought, society, and politics of the time.

Rather than simply tracing elements of the common law back to their Anglo-Saxon, Norman or other origins, John Hudson examines and analyses the emergence of the common law from the interaction of various elements that developed over time, such as the powerful royal government inherited from Anglo-Saxon England and land holding customs arising from the Norman Conquest.

Containing a new chapter charting the Anglo-Saxon period, as well as a fully revised Further Reading section, this new edition is an authoritative yet highly accessible introduction to the formation of the English common law and is ideal for students of history and law.

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

John Hudson is Professor of Legal History at St Andrews University, UK, and William W. Cook Global Law Professor at the University of Michigan. His previous publications include F. W. Maitland and the Englishness of English Law(2008), The Oxford History of the Laws of England, Volume II 871-1216 (2012) and Papers Preparatory to the Making of English Law: King Alfred to the Twelfth Century, Volume II: From God's Law to Common Law, ed., with Stephen Baxter (2014).