[1] The King's High Court of Justice (Curia Regis) was divided, about
1215, into three distinct courts: (1) the Exchequer Court (so called
from the chequered cloth which covered the table of the court, and
which was probably made useful in counting money), which dealt with
cases of finance and revenue; (2) the Court of Common Pleas, which had
jurisdiction in civil suits between subject and subject; (3) the Court
of King's Bench, which transacted the remaining business, both civil
and criminal, and had special jurisdiction over all inferior courts
and civil corporations.
Later, a fourth court, that of Chancery (see S145, and note 1),
over which the Lord Chancellor presided, was established as a court of
appeal and equity, to deal with cases where the common law gave no
relief.

148. Trial by Battle.

In the administration of justice, Trial by Battle was introduced in
addition to the Ordeal of the Saxons (S91). This was a duel in which
each of the contestants appealed to Heaven to give him the victory, it
believed that the right would vanquish. Noblemen[2] fought on
horseback in full armor, with sword, lance, and battle-ax; common
people fought on foot with clubs.

[2] See Shakespeare's "Richard II," Act I, scenes i and iii; also
Scott's "Ivanhoe," Chapter XLIII.

In both cases the combat was in the presence of judges and might last
from sunrise until the stars appeared. Priests and women had the
privilege of being represented by champions, who fought for them.
Trial by Battle was claimed and allowed by the court (though the
combat did not come off) as late as 1817, in the reign of George III.
This custom was finally abolished in 1819.[3]

[3] Trial by Battle might be demanded in cases of chivalry or honor,
in criminal actions, and in civil suits. The last were fought not by
the disputants themselves but by champions.

149. Divisions of Society.

The divisions of society remained after the Conquest very nearly as
before, but the Saxon orders of nobility, with a few very rare
exceptions, were deprived of their rank and their estates given to the
Normans.

It is important to notice here the marked difference between the new
or Norman nobility and that of France.

In England a man was considered a noble because, under William and his
successors, he was a member of the Great or National Council (S80),
or, in the case of an earl, because he represented the King in the
government of a county or earldom.