The Birth of the English Common Law

This book, first published in 1973, provides a challenging interpretation of the emergence of the common law in Anglo-Norman England.

R. C. Caenegem (Author)

9780521356824, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 24 November 1988

180 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.1 cm, 0.197 kg

'The study reflects a thorough command of the primary sources and the vast secondary literature, and it is written with rare lucidity and wit.' New York Literary Journal

This book provides a challenging interpretation of the emergence of the common law in Anglo-Norman England, against the background of the general development of legal institutions in Europe. In a detailed discussion of the emergence of the central courts and the common law they administered, the author traces the rise of the writ system and the growth of the jury system in twelfth-century England. Professor van Caenegem attempts to explain why English law is so different from that on the Continent and why this divergence began in the twelfth century, arguing that chance and chronological accident played the major part and led to the paradox of a feudal law of continental origin becoming one of the most typical manifestations of English life and thought. First published in 1973, The Birth of the English Common Law has come to enjoy classical status, and in a preface Professor van Caenegem discusses some recent developments in the study of English law under the Norman and earliest Angevin kings.

Preface to the second edition
Preface to the first edition
1. English courts from the Conqueror to Glanvill
2. Royal writs and writ procedure
3. The jury in the royal courts
4. English law and the Continent
notes to the text
index of persons, places and subjects.

Subject Areas: Common law [LAFC]