The Norman Legal System

• The Norman legal system was somewhat different from the Anglo-Saxon one but it carried over a lot of the strongest ideas from the already strong Anglo-Saxon legal code
• Anglo-Saxon England was well governed by the standards of the 11th century
• William wanted continuity because complete change might cause him more problems than it solved
• William still wanted to maintain and keep his power or even to extend it in certain ways
• Two main changes to the legal system under the Normans

  • The power of the king increased under William
  • The church also increased in its power because it was an important part of the legal system that most people were prepared to accept
• It is very difficult to maintain a legal system


  If people don't expect and indeed accept the justice that it provided
• Examples of continuity from before 1066

  • William kept the majority of Saxon laws
  • The systems of tithings and the hue and cry were kept because they were effective ways of policing local communities
• Examples of change after 1066

  • William made a new law that if a Norman was murdered all of the people in that region had to join together and pay a high fine called the murdrum fine
  • William used the death penalty for serious crimes and for re-offenders, with executions carried out in public
  • The Normans introduced trial by combat
• New things William introduced

  • The forest laws - trees could no longer be cut down, people were forbidden to own dogs or bows and arrows, and those caught hunting deer were severely punished
  • Norman French became the official language used in court procedures, and all court records were kept in Latin
  • Fines were no longer paid to the victim or their family but to the king's officials
  • The Normans introduced church courts, which were separate courts used for churchmen and tended to be more lenient
• William recognized the strengths of the Anglo-Saxon legal code and kept many of its laws and customs in place
• William introduced fines like the murdrum and increased the number of executions to keep the population under control, as the Normans were heavily outnumbered by the Saxons
• William increased the power of the king by introducing forest laws and fines that were paid directly to the crown rather than to the victim
• William increased the influence of the church with separate church courts to judge the clergy, which were often more lenient