Norman Law and English Common Law

gemini

**Norman Law** was the legal system of the Duchy of Normandy, which was a blend of Viking custom and Frankish (French) feudalism. When William the Conqueror took over in 1066, he didn't just bring knights; he brought a legal "operating system" that eventually evolved into **English Common Law**. --- ## 1. The Norman "Operating System" The Normans introduced several concepts that are still the bedrock of the legal world in the US, UK, and beyond. * **The King as the Source of All Land:** Before 1066, Anglo-Saxon land ownership was a bit messy. The Normans established that the King owns *everything*. You don't "own" your house in the absolute sense; you hold a "title" to it granted by the state. This is why, if you die without an heir, your property goes to the state (**Escheat**). * **The Writ System:** To get justice, you had to buy a "Writ" from the King’s office. This made law a centralized business. It moved justice out of local village moots and into the King’s courts. * **Trial by Battle:** The Normans brought the idea that if two people disagreed, they could fight it out, and God would grant victory to the one in the right. (Thankfully, we replaced this with "Trial by Jury," though the Normans actually helped formalize the jury system, too!) --- ## 2. How it became "Common Law" Before the Normans, England had "Danelaw" in the north, "Mercian Law" in the middle, and "West Saxon Law" in the south. It was a patchwork. The Normans created **English Common Law** by making the law "common" to the entire realm. 1. **Judges on Circuit:** The King sent judges traveling across the country. 2. **Precedent:** These judges would meet in London, discuss their cases, and agree: "In this situation, we always rule this way." 3. **Consistency:** Over time, these decisions became a body of law that applied to everyone, regardless of which county they lived in. --- ## 3. Comparing the Legal "Vibes" | Feature | Anglo-Saxon / Celtic Law | Norman / Common Law | | --- | --- | --- | | **Focus** | Compensation (The *Wergild* or blood-price) | Punishment & Sovereignty | | **Authority** | Local Custom / Elders | The King / Central Courts | | **Property** | Family or Clan-based | Feudal (Top-down) | | **Key Document** | Oral tradition / Local codes | The Writ / The Precedent | --- ## 4. The Lasting "Norman" Legacy You can still see the Norman influence in our legal language today. Because the Norman elite spoke French, our "fancy" legal words are almost all French-based, while "common" words are Anglo-Saxon. * **Anglo-Saxon (Common):** Thief, Steal, Fight, Folk. * **Norman (Legal):** Larceny, Burglary, Assault, Jury, Court, Judge, Verdict. Even the phrase **"Attorney General"** follows French grammar (noun before adjective), a linguistic fossil from the Norman Conquest. ### The Irony of Common Law The irony is that while Common Law started as a tool of **Norman control**, it eventually became the tool people used to **limit the King's power**. By 1215, the barons used the King’s own legal logic to force him to sign the **Magna Carta**, arguing that even the King must follow the "Law of the Land."

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