The English Judiciary in the Age of Glanvill and Bracton c.1176-1239

Abstract

This book presents a study of the evolution of a professional judiciary in medieval England through the careers of forty-nine royal justices from the last decade of Henry II until 1239. Those years were crucial for the growth of the common law, producing the two legal treatises Glanvill and Bracton. The period also represents a critical phase in the growth of a professional civil service for England. Professor Turner's study plots the shifts from unspecialized multipurpose royal servants to corps of specialists, concentrating on one sphere. By using the method known as prosopography, the author succeeds in bringing vague outlines of the early royal justices into sharper focus. Although they played a major role in the shaping of English common law, little biographical material has been available. This study, by looking at the judges collectively, succeeds in overcoming the scarcity of sources on individuals and presents a composite picture.

The long transition from a natural state to a liberal economic order

“…The reason for this had to do with the expansion of the European economy after 1100 as both population, 15 The role played by these royal judges in the development of the common law is studied by Turner (1985). Initially merely royal officials, these judges gradually became professional, specialized, experts, a process that was central to the growing sense that England was a country ruled by law by the thirteenth century.…”

Common Law, Equity, and American Public Administration

“…5. I have drawn from the following sources on the history of English common law: Pollock and Maitland (1895), Dale (1902), Plucknett (1983), Radcliffe and Cross (1977), Kempin (1963), Biancalana (1988), Francis (1983, Turner (1985), Arthurs (1985), Tubbs (2000), and Brannon (1998).…”

Settlement and the Decline of Private Prosecution in Thirteenth-Century England

“…Richard Barre studied at Bologna, where he was friends with the distinguished canonist Stephen of Tournai. 116 Hubert Walter had been a papal judge delegate, 117 and there is some evidence that several other royal judges were familiar with the canon law. 118 In addition, a substantial number of eyre judges were bishops or archdeacons, who might have acquired knowledge of the canon law through their judicial responsibilities within the church.…”