As we explained in chapter three, this allowed the development of literature and science with no interference from above. Unapproved ideas were unhindered and the best of them could take root. In a more abstract way, the same thing happened in England in the 5th through 10th centuries A.D.

During this time, kings, nobles and the Church all fought for control and advantage. There were endless fights over who was permitted to appoint bishops and over the legal status of clergy, among many smaller disputes. These two groups fighting meant that large areas of life were left alone as the combatants busied themselves with their battles.

In Europe proper, the Church had both power and communications, which meant that they could exercise a great deal of control, even while scrapping with potentates. On the more distant island nation of England, however, their power was reduced. And, because of the physical separation from Europe, communication was slower. It was thus in this place that a new step forward could come, which had its foundations in the common law of England.

Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals, rather than through legislative statutes or executive action. The common law is created and updated by judges, not by legislators.

Under the common law, a decision in any case refers to decisions in previous cases and affects the law to be applied in future cases. When there is no authoritative statement of "the law" judges define the law by creating precedent. This body of precedent is called common law, and it binds future decisions to itself. In future cases, when parties disagree on the law, common law courts look to past decisions of relevant courts. If a similar dispute has been resolved in the past, the court is bound to follow the reasoning used in the prior decision. (This is known as the principle of stare decisis.) If, however, the court finds that the current dispute is fundamentally distinct from all previous cases, the court will write and publish its own decision, forming a new precedent. (This is often called a matter of first impression.) This new decision must then be followed by future courts under the principle of stare decisis.

On the occasions where a bad decision is made by a judge, other judges will reject the decision, usually publishing an explanation. If still other judges agree, the bad decision is eventually eliminated from the law books. Note that no legislation is required in these processes and no authority is required from a king or pope. This is because the common law was formed in the same way as the universities of the era – men who needed it simply built it themselves, with no one either forbidding or authorizing. They built the system according to the necessities of active men, not the necessities of rulers. The common law, unlike Clerical Law or the old Roman law, was written primarily in the conversational language of the people, and was, therefore, accessible to them. This law was written for normal people, not for experts.