There are some stories that need to be told anew to every generation. This book tells one such story. It explores the historical origins of the common law and explains why that story needs to be understood by all who study or come into contact with English law. The book functions as the prequel to what students learn during their law degrees or for the SQE. It can be read in preparation for, or as part of, modules introducing the study of English law or as a starting point for specialist modules on legal history or aspects of legal history. This book will not only help students understand and contextualise their study of the current law but it will also show them that the options they have to change the law are greater than they might assume from just studying the current law.

'Russell Sandberg continues his laudable mission to persuade law students to bring a historical dimension to their studies, encouraging them to do so with his useful and lively account of important stories and debates about the common law's origins and developments, from the Old English kingdoms to the seventeenth century.' Gwen Seabourne, University of Bristol
'A refreshing and thoughtful appraisal of the place and importance of early English legal history and of the historical approach to law. Engagingly written, this text will be an invaluable and enlightening companion to all students of law, enabling them to contextualise and rationalise their legal studies.' Chantal Stebbings, University of Exeter
'An edgy, erudite and engaging story of English legal history. Eschewing a smooth narrative of progress, this volume shows how the common law tradition grew by fits and starts over the centuries. Students will love this bouncy and buoyant introduction to legal history, and seasoned scholars will learn much from this 'subversive' account.' John Witte, Jr, Emory University

Russell Sandberg is a Professor of Law at Cardiff University. He is the author of Law and Religion (Cambridge, 2011), Religion, Law and Society (Cambridge, 2014) and Subversive Legal History: A Manifesto for the Future of Legal Education (Routledge, 2021).