Historical Foundations of the Common Law

IntroductionI. Institutional Background 1—The Centralization of Justice Local and Customary Laws County Courts Hundred and Franchise Courts Records of Local Courts Feudal Jurisdictions Jurisdiction of the Church The Pattern of Centralization The Eyre System Rise of the Central Courts The Writ System 2—The Institutions of the Common Law in Its First Formative Period Write and Their Learning Ancient Pattern of Law-Suit Counting Pleading The Year Books The Trial The End of Oral Pleading Business Done on Circuit The King's Bench Jurisdiction in Error 3—The Institutions of the Common Law in Its Second Formative Period The Nature of the Change Fictions concerning Jurisdiction The Increase of Business Replacement of Old Actions by New Changing Pattern of Law-Suit Demurrer Special Verdict Other Mechanisms of Discussion in Bank Discussion of Facts Coming out at the Trial Discussion after Trial of Matters Raised by Pleadings Substantive Result of Procedural Changes 4—The Rise of Equity Procedural Bearings of Early Equity Theoretical Relationship between Law and Equity Conflict between Law and Equity The Regularization of Equity II. Property in Land 5—Tenures Lordship and Ownership Agricultural Tenures Military Tenures Heritability and the Ownership of Land The Incidents of Tenure Services and Incidents Mortmain and Quia Emptores Consequences of Quia Emptores and of the Incidents 6—Early Actions Seisin and Right The Writ of Right The Assize of Mort d'Ancestor The Assize of Novel Disseisin Writs of Entry The Change in Underlying Ideas 7—Later Actions Protection of the Term of Years Actions concerning Freehold in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries Use of Ejectment by Freeholders Copyhold 8—Settlement of Land at Law The Heritable Fee and the Rise of the Entail Later History of Entails Working of Warranties Barring of Entails by Warranties Fines and Recoveries Contemporary Attitudes to Entails and Their Barring Settlement and Resettlement Remainders Contingent Remainders 9—Uses and Trusts Land The Problem of Origins Situations in which One might Hold for the Benefit of Another Grant and Regrant Relationship with Devise The Feudal Incidents Uses as an Institution The Mischiefs of Uses The Statute of Uses The Statute of Wills Uses at Law Uses and Conveyancing Legal Executory Interests Perpetuities Rise of the TrustIII. Obligations 10—Old Persona Actions The Beginnings Covenant Debt on an Obligation Covenant and Conditional Bonds Debt and Detinue Debt on a Contract Detinue for Goods Bought Detinue on a Bailment Detinue against Persons Other than Bailees Account 11—The Rise of Trespass and Case The Beginnings Trespass vi et armis and Its Extension Liability in Trespass vi et armis Actions on the Case The Relationship between Trespass and Case 12—Growth of the Modern Law of Contract Assumpsit for Misfeasance Actions on Warranties Assumpsit for Nonfeasance The Early Nonfeasance Cases Disablement and Deceit Pure Nonfeasance Assumpsit for Money: the Background Assumpsit for Money: the Kinds of Claim Consequences of Slade's Case Consideration 13—Rise of Modern Law of Torts Deceit Conversion Defamation NegligenceIV. Crime 14—Criminal Administration and Law Pleas of the Crown The Initiation of Proceedings Mode of Trial Organization of Criminal Courts Vehicles of Change in Criminal Law Substantive Development of Criminal Law Notes Tables of Cases Table of Laws and Statutes Index