Editing Doctors' Commons (section)

==The civil law in England==
[[File:ONL (1887) 1.288 - The Prerogative Office, Doctors' Commons, 1860.jpg|thumb|The [[Prerogative]] Office, Doctors' Commons, in 1860]]
While the [[English common law]], unlike the legal systems on the European continent, developed mostly independently from [[Roman law]], some specialised English courts applied the Roman-based civil law. This is true of the [[ecclesiastical court]]s, whose practice even after the [[English Reformation]] continued to be based on the [[canon law]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], and also of the [[admiralty courts]]. Until reforms in the 19th century, the ecclesiastical courts performed functions equivalent to today's [[probate court]]s, subject then to appeals to separate courts ([[court of equity|of equity]]), and [[family court]]s (however divorce was much harder to achieve).

The advocates practising in these courts had been trained in canon law (before the Reformation) and in Roman law (after) at the university colleges of [[Oxford]] and [[Cambridge]]. This profession was split, like its common law counterpart. The advocates (the doctors) were akin to [[barrister]]s in the common-law courts, while the proctors were akin to [[attorney at law| attorneys]] in the common-law courts or to [[solicitor]]s in the courts of equity.

According to some accounts, the society of Doctors' Commons was formed in 1511 by Richard Blodwell, [[Dean of Arches |Dean of the Arches]]. He served nine years. According to others, it existed in the previous century. The society's buildings, acquired in 1567, were near [[St. Paul's Cathedral]] at [[Paternoster Row]], and remained in use for many years;{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} however, in the society's final decades nearby buildings in [[Knightrider Street]] were used instead.{{sfn|Baker|1998|p=59|loc= n. 8}}

In 1768 the society was incorporated. It took official name of the "College of Doctors of Law exercent in the Ecclesiastical and Admiralty Courts". The college still consisted of its president (the [[Dean of Arches]]) and of those doctors of law who, having {{tooltip|regularly|meaning 'in regularity'}} taken that degree in the universities of Oxford or Cambridge, and having been admitted advocates in pursuance of the rescript of the [[archbishop of Canterbury]], were elected "fellows" in the manner prescribed by the charter. There were also attached to the college thirty-four "[[proctor]]s", whose duties were analogous to those of [[solicitor]]s.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}