as succeeded as king by his son William II
(Rufus), who transgressed many of the customs of the nation to get
more money for himself. He was killed by an arrow of a fellow
hunter while they and William's younger brother Henry were hunting
together in a crown forest. Henry then became king.

- The Law -

The Norman conquerors brought no written law, but affirmed the
laws of the nation. Two they especially enforced were:

Anyone caught in the act of digging up the King's road, felling a
tree across it, or attacking someone so that his blood spilled on
it shall pay a fine to the King.

All freemen shall have a surety who would hand him over to justice
for his offenses or pay the damages or fines due. If an accused
man fled, his surety would have a year to find him to obtain
reimbursement.

The Conquerer proclaimed that:

No cattle shall be sold except in towns and before three
witnesses.

For the sale of ancient chattels, there must be a surety and a
warrantor.

No man shall be sold over the sea. (This ended the slave trade at
the port of Bristol.)

The death penalty for persons tried by court is abolished.

- Judicial Procedure -

"Ecclesiastical" courts were created for bishops to preside over
cases concerning the cure of souls and criminal cases, in which
the ordeal was used. When the Conquerer did not preside over this
court, an appeal could be made to him.

The hundred and county courts now sat without clergy and handled
only "civil" cases. They were conducted by the King's own
appointed sheriff. Only freemen and not bound villeins had
standing in this court. They continued to transact their business
in the English language.

The local jurisdictions of thegns who had grants of sac and soke
or who exercised judicial functions among their free neighbors
were now called "manors" under their new owners, who conducted a
manor court.

The Conquerer's Royal Court was called the "Curia Regis". When the
Conquerer wished to determine the national laws, he summoned
twelve elected representatives of each county to declare on oath
the ancient lawful customs and law as they existed in the time of
the popular King Edward the Confessor. The recording of this law
was begun. A person could spend months trying to catch up with the
Royal Court to present a case. Sometimes the Conquerer sent the
justiciar or commissioners to hold his Royal Court in the var