Common-law courts arose from Norman efforts to extend royal authority.

Evidence

The policy was not without peril. … His plan was to stretch old principles to take on new meaning. … Cautiously and quietly Henry began to claim that the King’s Peace extended over all England, and that no matter where it was broken offenders should be tried in the King’s courts. — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 342 (#expands, via linked claim)

A bait was needed with which to draw litigants to the royal courts; the King must offer them better justice than they could have at the hands of their lords. … Henry accordingly threw open to litigants in the royal courts a new procedure for them – trial by jury. — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 343 (#expands, via linked claim)

The presence of William’s Norman Conquest, which began at Hastings in 1066, had manifested itself and continued to do so in many different ways, in both institutions and the historical experience of political subjects in England. It manifested itself quite explicitly in the rituals of power as, until Henry VII, or in other words, until the early sixteenth century, royal acts specifically stated that the king of England exercised his sovereignty by right of conquest. They described him as an heir to to the Normans’ right of conquest. — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 115 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Judge-made common law originated as customary unwritten law. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 133; Henry II expanded the King’s Peace to solidify royal jurisdiction. — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 342; Western juridical thought was built around and for royal power. — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 43 (+3 more)

Related

• Henry II expanded the King’s Peace to solidify royal jurisdiction. (similarity 0.87)
• Henry II popularized trial by jury to attract cases to royal courts. (similarity 0.86)
• Royal writs defined which disputes the King’s courts would hear (similarity 0.80)
• Western juridical thought was built around and for royal power. (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Henry II expanded the King’s Peace to solidify royal jurisdiction. #expands (0.85) — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 342
• Henry II popularized trial by jury to attract cases to royal courts. #expands (0.75) — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 343
• Western juridical thought was built around and for royal power. #expands (0.72) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 43
• English kings claimed sovereignty by Norman right of conquest until the sixteenth century #expands (0.72) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 115