The vast majority of people think the law is created to prevent violence and other illegal activities. But people could do this before the law and still do to some degree. The law is designed to reassure those who do not need the law, that the illegal activities will be kept within tolerable bounds. The law was primarily a way to prove to the serfs that the King would not make destitute his subjects. The army was primarily used against the citizen to ensure taxation was maintained. It was turned outwards against others as a way to tax foreign peoples by means of rapine. Violence as a threat keeps the payments coming and as a reality, keeps the people divided. The breeding of fear in the people legitimizes the power of the state.
