Origins of the Common Law
Arthur R. Hogue

I learned about the origins of the common law, but I had a hard time slogging through this detailed examination of royal perogative, free and unfree tenures, chancery records, and the rise of statute law. Common law developed as courts gave writs recognizing the rights of Englishmen and as judges decided the cases that came before them. One of the most interesting tidbits was that medieval juries were composed of citizens who knew about the case and could tell the judge what happened. That differs from modern juries who are not supposed to know about the case. (Liberty Fund, 1986)