---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whatever else the Norman Conquest may or…"
description: "\"Whatever else the Norman Conquest may or may not have done, it made the old haphazard state of legal affairs forever impossible.\" — Edward Jenks"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03d/edward-jenks-23531_affair_whatever-else-the-norman-conquest-may-or_2367301.jpg"
---

#  Whatever else the Norman Conquest may or may not have…

![“Whatever else the Norman Conquest may or may not have done, it made the old haphazard state of legal affairs forever impossible.” quote by Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03d/edward-jenks-23531_affair_whatever-else-the-norman-conquest-may-or_2367301.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03d/edward-jenks-23531_affair_whatever-else-the-norman-conquest-may-or_2367301.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03d/edward-jenks-23531_affair_whatever-else-the-norman-conquest-may-or_2367301.jpg)

> “Whatever else the Norman Conquest may or may not have done, it made the old haphazard state of legal affairs forever impossible.”

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The Norman Conquest permanently organized chaotic legal systems.

**In simple terms:** Conquest brought legal order.

Key Takeaway

Recognize how major events reshape institutions.

Themes

history law institutional change

Mood

analytical historical

Type

educational informative

When to use this quote

- policy reform
- legal education
- historical analysis
- comparative law

Key Concepts

political science legal history

Questions to Reflect On

- What lasting impacts did the conquest have?
- How do modern reforms compare?

A Different Perspective

Legal reforms may also create new complexities.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Affair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/) [Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquest/)

## Related quotes

> [Еhere's no doubt at all that the Norman conquest led to the hugely concentrated land ownership patterns that we still see in Britain today.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kingsnorth/here-s-no-doubt-at-all-that-the-norman-conquest-led-to-the-hugely/)

[Paul Kingsnorth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kingsnorth/)

> [Believing things on authority only means believing them because you have been told them by someone you think trustworthy. Ninety-nine per cent of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/believing-things-on-authority-only-means-believing-them-because-you/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [I do think that the legacy of the Norman conquest is still strong in Britain. Our hereditary monarchy, our established church, our ancient county…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kingsnorth/i-do-think-that-the-legacy-of-the-norman-conquest-is-still-strong-in/)

[Paul Kingsnorth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kingsnorth/)

> [There was endless controversy as to whether the acts of the New Deal did actually move recovery or retard it, and nothing final could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garet-garrett/there-was-endless-controversy-as-to-whether-the-acts-of-the-new-deal/)

[Garet Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garet-garrett/)

> [“They reminded me, however, of soldiers in the Crusades, the Wars of the Roses or the Norman Conquest. Thick, but willing to fight anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wiggins/they-reminded-me-however-of-soldiers-in-the-crusades-the-wars-of-the/)

[Karl Wiggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wiggins/)

> [It always has been and forever will be impossible for slavery or any kind or form of injustice to produce a great poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/it-always-has-been-and-forever-will-be-impossible-for-slavery-or-any/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [A restitution of the Union has been rendered forever impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-davis/a-restitution-of-the-union-has-been-rendered-forever-impossible/)

[Jefferson Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-davis/)

> [What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment thats gone forever, impossible to reproduce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/what-i-like-about-photographs-is-that-they-capture-a-moment-thats/)

[Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/)

> [I believe that the community's duty to education is, therefore, its paramount moral duty. By law and punishment, by social agitation and discussion, society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/i-believe-that-the-community-s-duty-to-education-is-therefore-its/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Deathlessness should be arrived at in a... haphazard fashion. Loving fame as much as any man, we shall carve our initials in the shell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/deathlessness-should-be-arrived-at-in-a-haphazard-fashion-loving-fame/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [But amid much elegance and precision, the details of life and the Universe also exhibit haphazard, jury-rigged arrangements and much poor planning. What shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/but-amid-much-elegance-and-precision-the-details-of-life-and-the/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [These days I keep a journal, so I'm constantly sketching down my thoughts, or lines that come to me...ideas for songs. And then when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/these-days-i-keep-a-journal-so-i-m-constantly-sketching-down-my/)

[Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/)

> [If you dread the thought of wasted time in meetings, chances are that your team members feel the same way. Team members are also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-zwilling/if-you-dread-the-thought-of-wasted-time-in-meetings-chances-are-that/)

[Martin Zwilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-zwilling/)

> [Friendships do not grow up in any carefully tended and contemplated fashion… They begin haphazard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/friendships-do-not-grow-up-in-any-carefully-tended-and-contemplated/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

## More by Edward Jenks

> [We regard an action of Contract as an action to prevent or compensate for a breach of a promise; an action of Tort as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/we-regard-an-action-of-contract-as-an-action-to-prevent-or-compensate/)

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

> [It was not long before English Law took the one step needed to produce the modern scheme of legal remedies. And when it did,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/it-was-not-long-before-english-law-took-the-one-step-needed-to/)

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

> [It is the glory of English Law, that its roots are sunk deep into the soil of national history; that it is the slow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/it-is-the-glory-of-english-law-that-its-roots-are-sunk-deep-into-the/)

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

> [It was natural that the direct wielders of the royal prerogative, men who sat in the Star Chamber and the Privy Council, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/it-was-natural-that-the-direct-wielders-of-the-royal-prerogative-men/)

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

> [Perhaps the best testimony to the effectiveness of the reforms of 1852 is the fact, that men of a slightly later generation, familiar with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/perhaps-the-best-testimony-to-the-effectiveness-of-the-reforms-of/)

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

> [The 'Little' or 'Barebones' Parliament, summoned by Oliver Cromwell to meet at Westminster on 4th July, 1653, after the dissolution of the remains of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/the-little-or-barebones-parliament-summoned-by-oliver-cromwell-to/)

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

> [The process of specialization tends, almost inevitably, to narrow the sources from which the rules of any science are drawn; and English law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/the-process-of-specialization-tends-almost-inevitably-to-narrow-the/)

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

> [The invention of writs was really the making of the English Common Law; and the credit of this momentous achievement, which took place chiefly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/the-invention-of-writs-was-really-the-making-of-the-english-common/)

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

> [Is it surprising that modern English land law should resemble a chaos rather than a system?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/is-it-surprising-that-modern-english-land-law-should-resemble-a-chaos/)

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

> [Thus, at long last, as a visible emblem of unity was daily growing in the new Palace of Justice then being erected in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/thus-at-long-last-as-a-visible-emblem-of-unity-was-daily-growing-in/)

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

> [It is true, that a Law of Contract based on causae will always be an arbitrary and inelastic law; but it is a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/it-is-true-that-a-law-of-contract-based-on-causae-will-always-be-an/)

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

> [What is technically called the 'fungibility' of money, is its chief value as an article of commerce; and this fact could not long remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/what-is-technically-called-the-fungibility-of-money-is-its-chief/)

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

> [But then a daring evasion by a leading conveyancer, known as the Lease and Release, received judicial sanction; and commenced a successful career of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/but-then-a-daring-evasion-by-a-leading-conveyancer-known-as-the-lease/)

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

> [But we remember that it was just precisely in the reign of Richard II that the Peasants' War, following upon the changes wrought by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/but-we-remember-that-it-was-just-precisely-in-the-reign-of-richard-ii/)

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

> [Legal business has, from the beginning of time, been profitable - to those who have conducted it; because it is concerned with things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/legal-business-has-from-the-beginning-of-time-been-profitable-to/)

[Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

[Explore all 25 Edward Jenks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/)

## More Affair quotes

> [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/)

[Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/)

> [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/)

[Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/)

> [Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/our-guiding-principle-was-that-design-is-neither-an-intellectual-nor/)

[Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/)

> [I wonder if it's possible to have a love affair that lasts forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-wonder-if-it-s-possible-to-have-a-love-affair-that-lasts-forever/)

[Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/)

> [For a young man to start his career with a love affair with an older woman was quite de rigueur ... Of course, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vita-sackville-west/for-a-young-man-to-start-his-career-with-a-love-affair-with-an-older/)

[Vita Sackville-West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vita-sackville-west/)

> [As long as the state permits itself to interfere in the affairs of literature, literature has the right to interfere with the affairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/as-long-as-the-state-permits-itself-to-interfere-in-the-affairs-of/)

[Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/)

> [Love is mainly an affair of short spasms. If these spasms disappoint us, love dies. It is very seldom that it weathers the experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/love-is-mainly-an-affair-of-short-spasms-if-these-spasms-disappoint/)

[Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/)

> [The Fundamental Principle that governs - or ought to govern -human affairs if we wish to avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, or pointless utopias, is negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-fundamental-principle-that-governs-or-ought-to-govern-human/)

[Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/)

> [My hope does not rest in the affairs of this world. It rests in Christ who is coming again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/my-hope-does-not-rest-in-the-affairs-of-this-world-it-rests-in-christ/)

[Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/)

> [In 1953, the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. The Eisenhower administration believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/in-1953-the-united-states-played-a-significant-role-in-orchestrating/)

[Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/)

> [Not everyone likes the stable, gradual rise of our country. There are some who are using the democratic ideology to interfere in our internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/not-everyone-likes-the-stable-gradual-rise-of-our-country-there-are/)

[Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/)

> [The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atherton/the-archives-recall-not-one-single-incriminating-incident-not-one/)

Michael Atherton

> [“I ripped the sketch from the wall. "Liar." Edward looked more ravaged than usual. "That is a terrible word, coming from you." "Yup." "And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/i-ripped-the-sketch-from-the-wall-liar-edward-looked-more-ravaged/)

[Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/)

> [For some people, a one-night stand doesn't make any difference in a seven-year love affair. I don't believe the degree of betrayal is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/for-some-people-a-one-night-stand-doesn-t-make-any-difference-in-a/)

[Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/)

> [And what is literature, Rabo," he said, "but an insider's newsletter about affairs relating to molecules, of no importance to anything in the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-what-is-literature-rabo-he-said-but-an-insider-s-newsletter-about/)

[Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/)

[Browse all 2,218 Affair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Whatever else the Norman Conquest may or may not have done, it made the old haphazard state of legal affairs forever impossible.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Edward Jenks"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/whatever-else-the-norman-conquest-may-or-may-not-have-done-it-made/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Affair"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/whatever-else-the-norman-conquest-may-or-may-not-have-done-it-made/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03d/edward-jenks-23531_affair_whatever-else-the-norman-conquest-may-or_2367301.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03d/edward-jenks-23531_affair_whatever-else-the-norman-conquest-may-or_2367301.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03d/edward-jenks-23531_affair_whatever-else-the-norman-conquest-may-or_2367301.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Whatever else the Norman Conquest may or may not have done, it made the old haphazard state of legal affairs…” — Edward Jenks",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Edward Jenks",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Whatever else the Norman Conquest may...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/whatever-else-the-norman-conquest-may-or-may-not-have-done-it-made/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/whatever-else-the-norman-conquest-may-or-may-not-have-done-it-made/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
