Books by Ralph Turner

A valuable compendium: broad In scope, rich In detail: It should be a most useful reference for students and teachers

This collection of essays brings together the author''s work on th growth of administrative monarchy in Angevin England, concentrating upon the personnnel of royal government and especially upon the common law courts. It describes the institutions of the English common law during its formative period, including the growth of the jury and of the two central courts, Common Pleas at Westminster and the court following the king, later King''s Bench. Another group of essays illustrate the justices'' handling of cases coming before the law courts, examining please that touched the king''s interest. After a discussion of the authorship of England''s first great lawbook, Glanvill, other essays examine the justices, their level of literacy, the conflicts facing the clerics among them in hearing secular cases, and the hostility that they aroused as ''new men'' in the king''s service from conservative elements in society.

A valuable compendium: broad In scope, rich In detail: It should be a most useful reference for students and teachers

Magna Carta holds a special place in the popular imagination of the English. This, the first major book to explore the great political vision that lay behind it, uncovers the mystery of its origins, and charts its enduring relevance through the centuries.