Tractatus of Glanvill

The Tractatus de legibus et consuetudinibus regni Anglie (Treatise on the Laws and Customs of the Kingdom of England), often called Glanvill, is the earliest treatise on English law. Attributed to Ranulf de Glanvill (died 1190) and dated 1187–1189, it was revolutionary in its systematic codification that defined legal process and introduced writs, innovations that have survived to the present day. It is considered a book of authority in English common law.

Written for Henry II (reigned 1154 – 1189) as the culmination of his long struggle to return the kingdom to peace and prosperity following years of anarchy, the Tractatus is fairly described as the means to implement Henry's objectives. It would be supplanted as a primary source of English law by the De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliae (On the Laws and Customs of England) of Henry de Bracton (ca. 1210 – 1268), which itself owes much of its heritage to the Tractatus.

There has been debate over the actual author of all or parts of the Tractatus. The legal opinions of Glanvill's nephew, Hubert Walter are certainly cited. Whatever the case, Glanvill perhaps supervised and certainly approved the work, and the issue is sidestepped in the literature by using terminology such as "commonly attributed to Glanvill".

The treatise translates the Latin words "homo" and "homines", later used in the Magna Carta, to mean "free person, male or female" or "libero homine tam masculo quam femine".

In later English constitutional documentation, such as the English Bill of Rights and the United States Constitution, only the English word "person" is used, not the word "man".

Norman law in England was a combination of Norman law in Normandy as modified to address perceived defects in it, inventions to address any problems unique to Norman control of England, and adaptations from the customs of the English when it suited Norman purposes. Also, a nascent but evolving feudalism had existed in England since the late tenth century.

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