Search results
People also ask
How did Henry II develop the common law?
Did Henry II have a code of Laws?
What did Henry II do?
What did Henry II do in 1154 76?
Summary. T he reign of Henry II has long been regarded, and rightly, as a period of major importance in the history of English law. For most legal historians it is the period when it first becomes possible to recognise the existence of an English ‘Common Law’: both a set of national legal institutions bringing law and justice to the whole ...
- Paul Brand
- 2007
Feb 17, 2011 · Top. Law before Henry II and the Impetus for Reform from 1154. Thomas Becket in stained glass at Canterbury Cathedral © Even before the reforms of Henry II (1154-89), which are often seen as...
- Overview
- The origin of the common law
common law, the body of customary law, based upon judicial decisions and embodied in reports of decided cases, that has been administered by the common-law courts of England since the Middle Ages. From it has evolved the type of legal system now found also in the United States and in most of the member states of the Commonwealth (formerly the Briti...
The English common law originated in the early Middle Ages in the King’s Court (Curia Regis), a single royal court set up for most of the country at Westminster, near London. Like many other early legal systems, it did not originally consist of substantive rights but rather of procedural remedies. The working out of these remedies has, over time, produced the modern system in which rights are seen as primary over procedure. Until the late 19th century, English common law continued to be developed primarily by judges rather than legislators.
The common law of England was largely created in the period after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Anglo-Saxons, especially after the accession of Alfred the Great (871), had developed a body of rules resembling those being used by the Germanic peoples of northern Europe. Local customs governed most matters, while the church played a large part in government. Crimes were treated as wrongs for which compensation was made to the victim.
The Norman Conquest did not bring an immediate end to Anglo-Saxon law, but a period of colonial rule by the mainly Norman conquerors produced change. Land was allocated to feudal vassals of the king, many of whom had joined the conquest with this reward in mind. Serious wrongs were regarded mainly as public crimes rather than as personal matters, and the perpetrators were punished by death and forfeiture of property. The requirement that, in cases of sudden death, the local community should identify the body as English (“presentment of Englishry”)—and, therefore, of little account—or face heavy fines reveals a state of unrest between the Norman conquerors and their English subjects. Government was centralized, a bureaucracy built up, and written records maintained. Controversy exists regarding the extent to which the efficient government of the Anglo-Norman realm was due to the legacy of Anglo-Saxon institutions or to the ruthlessness of the Norman invaders. Elements of the Anglo-Saxon system that survived were the jury, ordeals (trials by physical test or combat), the practice of outlawry (putting a person beyond the protection of the law), and writs (orders requiring a person to appear before a court; see below The development of a centralized judiciary). Important consolidation occurred during the reign of Henry II (1154–89). Royal officials roamed the country, inquiring about the administration of justice. Church and state were separate and had their own law and court systems. This led to centuries of rivalry over jurisdiction, especially since appeals from church courts, before the Reformation, could be taken to Rome.
The Normans spoke French and had developed a customary law in Normandy. They had no professional lawyers or judges; instead, literate clergymen acted as administrators. Some of the clergy were familiar with Roman law and the canon law of the Christian church, which was developed in the universities of the 12th century. Canon law was applied in the English church courts, but the revived Roman law was less influential in England than elsewhere, despite Norman dominance in government. This was due largely to the early sophistication of the Anglo-Norman system. Norman custom was not simply transplanted to England; upon its arrival, a new body of rules, based on local conditions, emerged.
3 days ago · Henry II, king of England (1154–89) who greatly expanded his Anglo-French domains and strengthened the royal administration in England. His quarrels with Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, and with members of his own family ultimately brought about his defeat.
- Henry II was king of England from 1154 to 1189. The first of three Angevin kings of England, he expanded the Anglo-French domains and strengthened...
- Henry, who was the duke of Aquitaine, had a claim to the English throne, and he invaded England in 1153. King Stephen agreed to accept Henry as his...
- Henry acquired most of the Continental possessions that would expand the kingdom of England before he became king in 1154. He inherited the duchy o...
- Determined to assert his rights in all his lands, Henry II reasserted the centralized power of his grandfather, Henry I, in England. He issued the...
- Henry II’s plans to divide the Angevin “empire” among his sons led to many quarrels and wars. Of his five sons, only Richard and John survived his...
May 22, 2024 · Under Henry II (reigned 1154–89), to whom the development of the common law is principally due, the royal representatives were sent out on a regular basis (their tours being known as circuits) and their functions began to be exclusively judicial. Known as justiciae errantes (wandering justices), they took over the work of the local courts.
Jun 11, 2018 · In the twelfth century Henry II expanded the use of the jury to identify and indict persons suspected of committing criminal acts. The king required these “ grand juries, ” which were comprised of several members of the community, to report every case of robbery, murder, and arson that had occurred since their last meeting with the circuit justice.
Henry's legal changes are generally considered to have laid the basis for the English Common Law, while his intervention in Brittany, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland shaped the development of their societies, histories, and governmental systems. Historical interpretations of Henry's reign have changed considerably over time.
