Coram Rege

[Latin, In the presence of the king himself.]

After the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, court was held before the king himself—coram rege—whenever matters affecting the royal interest were in issue. When the king began to appoint a tribunal to hear cases for him, it was called the Curia Regis, or the King's Court. From the Curia Regis developed the royal common-law courts.