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What were the Year Books and why were they important to English common law?
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Common law
Henry II (left) disputing with Thomas Becket (center), miniature from a 14th-century manuscript; in the British Library (Cotton MS. Claudius D.ii).
The Year Books were collections of notes taken by law students and practitioners in English courts, beginning around 1280, which recorded the legal arguments presented during actual cases. Originally handwritten and later printed and organized by regnal year, these reports were written in highly abbreviated law French.1
They were vital to the development of English common law for several reasons:
- Educational Resource: As formal legal education emerged, students attended court to take notes on arguments, as existing treatises like Bracton’s had become outdated.1
- Professional Guidance: Barristers and judges used these reports to stay informed about current legal practices and to reference earlier arguments when preparing for new cases.1
- Foundation of Case Law: Although previous decisions were not strictly binding, the consistent attention paid to these reports helped establish case law as the primary form of the common law system.1
By focusing on the arguments of counsel rather than just the final judgments, the Year Books provided a record of the evolving legal reasoning that defined the profession.1