ABSTRACT
Before the Norman conquest in 1066, the English legal system involved a mass of oral customary rules, which varied according to region. Most writers agree with Pollock and Maitland’s view that the common law had been largely established by the accession to the throne of Edward I in 1272. Certainly, the three courts of King’s Bench, Common Pleas and Exchequer were operational by this time. It is true that Henry II, who reigned 1154-89, did much of significance to enhance the development of the common law, for instance, by popularising the King’s court with the introduction of the Petty Assizes. However, we are not really familiar with how the Curia Regis acted during the Norman period before Henry II, because the earliest plea rolls date from his reign, so it would perhaps be over-presumptuous to credit too much to Henry II. In any event, the development of the common law was contributed to by many factors of a general historical nature and it might be more meaningful to speak of the various parties which helped nurture the common law from its first green shoots to its full bloom rather than to try and find a ‘father’.
