Anglo-Saxon law Anglo-Saxon law Anglo-Saxon law (Old English "ǣ", later "lagu" "law"; dōm "decree, judgment") is a body of written rules and customs that were in place during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, before the Norman conquest. This body of law, along with early Scandinavian law and Germanic law, descended from a family of ancient Germanic custom and legal thought. However, Anglo-Saxon law codes are distinct from other early Germanic legal statements – known as the "leges barbarorum", in part because they were written in Anglo-Saxon instead of in Latin. The laws of the Anglo-Saxons were the second in medieval Western Europe
English poetry language. The new aristocracy spoke predominantly Norman, and this became the standard language of courts, parliament, and polite society. As the invaders integrated, their language and literature mingled with that of the natives: the Oïl dialect of the upper classes became Anglo-Norman, and Anglo-Saxon underwent a gradual transition into Middle English. While Anglo-Norman or Latin was preferred for high culture, English literature by no means died out, and a number of important works illustrate the development of the language. Around the turn of the 13th century, Layamon wrote his "Brut", based on Wace's 12th century Anglo-Norman epic of the same