The Chief Justice and Chancellor were generally chosen by the King
from among the clergy; first, because the clergy were men of
education, while the barons were not; and next, because it was not
expedient to intrust too much power to the barons. These officials,
with the other members of the Private Council, constituted the King's
High Court of Justice.
[2] Curia Regis: This name was given, at different times, first, to
the Great or National Council; secondly, to the King's Private
Council; and lastly, to the High Court of Justice, consisting of
members of the Private Council.
It followed the King as he moved from place to place, to hear and
decide cases carried up by appeal from the county courts, together
with other questions of importance.[1] In local government the
country remained under the Normans essentially the same as it had been
before the Conquest. The King continued to be represented in each
county by an officer called the sheriff, who collected the taxes and
enforced the laws.
[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.