CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN ENGLISH LEGAL HISTORY Edited by D.E.C. YALE Fellow of Christ's College and Reader in English Legal History at the University of Cambridge The English]u diciary in the Age of Glanvill and Bracton 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 Glanvtll and Bracton. The period also represents a critical phase in the growth of a professional civil ser­ vice for England. Turner's study plots the shifts from unspecialised multipurpose royal servants to corps of specialists, each concentrat­ ing on one sphere. By using the method known as prosopography, Turner 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 for individuals and presents a composite picture. The resulting picture reveals much about the bench in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, and also about the body of royal servants in England. The forty-nine men who contributed so greatly to English law came equally from the laity and clergy. Laymen brought to the bench practical experience in the courts of shire and hundred, while clerics brought varying degrees of knowledge of the written law. Most came from the middle or lower ranks of the knightly class, and all were eager to climb to higher rank. Over half came from families with a tradition of service to the king, yet tracing patterns of patronage shows that they were more likely to owe appointment to the justiciar than to the king directly. Although contemporaries accused them of ambition, greed, and sycophancy, most had only modest success in ris­ ing a notch or two on the social scale. Those who rose most spec­ tacularly were those who stood closest to the king. This study, bringing together legal history, social history, and biography, will interest students of all aspects of medieval English life. THE ENGLISH JUDICIARYI N THE AGE OF GLANVILL AND BRACTON, 1176-1239 c. RALPH V. TURNER The Florida State University Ther ighoftt he UniverosfiC taym bridge top rinatn ds elf almla nneorf b ooks wasg rantbeyd HenryVI II in15 3.il. The Univ�rhsaistpy r inted andp ublischoendt inuously sinc15e84 . CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS CAMBRIDGE LONDON NEW YORK NEW ROCHELLE MELBOURNE SYDNEY Form y fellow-stuidne nts the' PaintScehro olo'f M edievEanlg liHsihs tory TheJ ohnHso pkinUsn iversity, 1958-1962 CAMBRIDGEU NIVERSITPYR ESS CambridgNee,wY orkM,e lbourMnaed,r iCda,p eT own,S ingapoSraeoP, a ulo CambridUgnei versPirteys s TheE dinburBguhi ldiCnagm,b ridCgBe2 8 RU,U K Publisihnet dh eU niteSdt atoefsA mericbay C ambridUgnei versPirteys Nse,w Y ork www.cambridge.org Informatioontn h itsi tlwew:w .cambridge.org/9780521265102 © CambridUgnei versPirteys1 s9 85 Thipsu blicaitsii oncn o pyrigShutb.j etcots tatuteoxrcye ption andt ot hep rovisioofrn esl evacnotl lecltiicveen saignrge ements, nor eproducotfia onnyp armta yt akpel acwei thotuhtew ritten permissoifoC na mbridUgnei versPirteys s. Firsptu blis1h9e8d5 Thidsi gitaplrliyn tveedr si2o0n0 8 A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 84-20058 ISBN9 78-0-521-26h5a1r0d-b2a ck ISBN9 78-0-521-077 p2a4p2e-rback CONTENTS Acknowledgements page vii Abbreviations ix 1 THE REPUTATION OF THE ROYAL JUSTICES 1 2 GLANVILL AND HIS COLLEAGUES, c. 1176-89 17 1 Elaboration of the eyre system 17 2 The justices' origins 25 3 Justices' activity in other aspects of royal 39 government 4 The rewards of office 51 3 THE ORIGINS OF A PROFESSIONAL JUDICIARY IN THE 65 REIGN OF RICHARD I 1 The two royal courts: Justices on Eyre and Bench 65 at Westminster 2 The emergence of a professional judiciary 7 4 3 Background and early careers 88 4 The rewards of Richard I's justices 107 4 KING JOHN'S CORPS OF JUSTICES 126 1 The courts of King John and their justices 126 2 Origins and training 138 3 Relations between the justices and King John 158 4 The rewards of King John's justices 171 5 PATTISHALL, RALEIGH AND THEIR COLLEAGUES 191 1 The judicial bench in early Henry III, 1217-39 191 2 Justices' origins and paths to the Bench 205 3 Book-learning in thirteenth-century English law 226 4 Rewards reaped by fulltime justices 240 v vi CONTENTS 6 THE WORK OF THE JUSTICES 259 1 The justices' mentality 259 2 The justices' views on kingship 268 3 The quality of justice 277 Conclusion: The judges and their critics 290 Appendix: Roya/justices, c.1176-1239 299 Manuscript sources 303 Index 305 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Students of the Middle Ages call to mind readily the metaphor of 'dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants', and if I have seen the early common law justices clearly, it is because of the broad shoulders of the giants who preceded me. Most noteworthy is the contribution of two scholars, whose studies made me aware of the possibilities of judicial biographies: Doris M. Stent on and C.A.F. Meekings. Innumerable references to their works in this book make clear the debt I owe to their studies. When I began this study, Meekings offered valuable advice; and after his death, Mrs Meekings generously allowed me to use his unpublished papers. Other British scholars offered advice and encouragement during my visits to England for research. ]. C. Holt read an early draft of the entire manu­ script, David Crook shared his work with me, and Paul Brand, Christopher Cheney, Michael Clanchy, S. C. F. Milsom and Neil Stacy made valuable suggestions. Many American scholars also contributed to the making of this book, most notably Samuel E. Thorne, whose magisterial work on Bracton has so changed the chronology of the common law. I owe a special debt to my companions in the medieval seminar at the Johns Hopkins University, whose friendship has remained constant over the years since we took our degrees and to whom this book is dedicated. Financial support came from several sources. The depart­ ment of history at the Florida State University was generous in providing time for research and funds for secretarial assistance and typing. The Council for Faculty Research of the Florida State University, the Penrose Fund of the American Philosophi­ cal Society, and the Project in Legal History of the American Bar Foundation provided funds for research trips to England. I am indebted to the Master and Fellows of St Edmund's House, University of Cambridge, for their hospitality during my stays vii viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS with them, first in 1977 and againin 1980-1, when they elected me a visiting fellow. My friends in London who offered hos­ pitality and encouragement during my visits there also merit my thanks: Frank and Alice Prochaska, Ian Graham, and James Dick. The staffs of the many libraries and archives in Britain where I undertook research did much to make this book possible: among them the British Library, Cambridge University Library, the Institute for Historical Research, University of London, Public Record Office, Lambeth Palace Library, and the Westminster Abbey Muniments Room. Among American libraries, I am indebted to the Strozier Library at the Florida State University, especially to the inter-library loan staff, and to the libraries of Duke University and Emory University. Tallahassee, 27 October1983 RV.T. ABBREVIATIONS A.H. R. American Historical Review A.JLH. American journal of Legal History Anna/es Mon. Anna/es Monastici, ed. H. R. Luard, 5 vols., Rolls Series (1864-9) B.IH. R. Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research, University of London Bio. Reg. Univ. Ox/ A. B. Emden, A Biographical Register of the University of Oxford to AD. 1500, 3 vols. (Oxford, 1957-9) B.L. British Library Book of Fees The Book of Fees, Public Record Office, 3 vols. (1921-31) Br. Note Book Bracton's Note Book, 3 vols. (London, 1887) Cal Chtr. Rolls Calendar of Charter Rolls, Public Record Office, 6 vols. (1903- 27) Cal Docs. relating to Ireland Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland ed. H.S. Sweetman, 1: 1171-1251, Public Record Office Cal I nq. Post Mort. Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Public Record Office (1904- ) Cal Lib. Rolls Calendar of Liberate Rolls, Henry III, Public Record Office (1917-64), 6 vols. Cal Pat. Rolls Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry III [1232-72], Public Record Office (1906-13) Cartae Antiq. Rolls Cartae Antique Rolls 1-10, ix x ABBREVIATIONS ed. Lionel Landon, Pipe Roll Society, new ser., 17 (1939); 11-20, ed. ]. Conway Davies, Pipe Roll Society, new ser., 33 (1960) Cat. Anc. Deeds Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds, 6 vols., Public Record Office (1890-1915) Chron. Maj Matthaei Parisiensis Chronica Majora, 7 vols., ed. H.R Luard, Rolls Series (1872-84) Close Rolls Close Rolls, Henry III, 14 vols., Public Record Office (1902-38) Complete Peerage G.E. Cokayne, Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and United Kingdom, 12 vols., new edn (London, 1910-59) CR.R. Curia Regis Rolls, 16 vols., Public Record Office (1923- ) C.U.L. Cambridge University Library Delisle, Recueil Recueil des actes de Henri II, Introduction and 3 vols., ed. Leopold Delisle and Elie Berger (Paris, 1909-27) Dial de Scac. Dialogus de Scaccario, the Course of the Exchequer, ed. and trans. Charles Johnson, Medieval Classics (London and New York, 1950) D.NB. Dictionary of National Biography, ed. Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee, 63 vols. (London, 1885- 1900) Docs. preserved in France Documents preserved in France, illustrative of the history of Great Britain and Ireland, 918-1206, ed. J.H. Round, Public Record Office (1899) Eng. Hist. Docs. English Historical Documents,