The Birth of the English Common Law (Cambridge Paperback Library)

First published in 1973, The Birth of the English Common Law has come to enjoy classic status. In a new preface, Professor van Caenegem discusses some recent developments in the study of English law under the Norman and earliest Angevin kings. The 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. 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 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.First published in 1973, The Birth of the English Common Law has come to enjoy classical status, and in a new preface Professor van Caenegem discusses some recent developments in the study of English law under the Norman and earliest Angevin kings. This book, first published in 1973, provides a challenging interpretation of the emergence of the common law in Anglo-Norman England. The author traces the rise of the writ system and the growth of the jury system in twelfth-century England. He also explains why English law differs from that of the Continent. English Courts From The Conqueror To Glanvill -- Royal Writs & Writ Procedure -- The Jury In The Royal Courts -- English Law And The Continent. R.c. Van Caenegem. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.