Kings, Barons and Justices

THE LEGAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT OF THE LEGISLATION

One of the main purposes of this study has been to place the legislation of 1259–67 in its proper contemporary context. That has meant looking at the individual clauses within the broader context of the development of the English common law and the English legal system during the period prior to its enactment. It has also meant placing the legislation within its more specific context, that of the political events and developments of the years between 1258 and 1267.

The pioneering work of T.F.T. Plucknett on the legal and social context of the legislation of Edward I (which, for his purposes, was taken to include the Statute of Marlborough) was hampered by his exclusive reliance on the sources in print at the time he was writing Legislation of Edward I. This meant that he knew nothing of what was on the plea rolls of the king's courts after 1222 other than the cases copied into Bracton's Note Book. His acquaintance with the manuscript material for the reign of Edward I was limited to the selected King's Bench cases printed by Sayles and the reported cases printed in the Rolls Series Year Books edited by Horwood. This study has attempted to show what can be done by using a much wider range of unprinted as well as printed sources.