LAW BOOKSELLERS AND PRINTERS AS AGENTS OF UNCHANGE

2007 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tariq A Baloch
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Book Publishing ◽  
Book Trade ◽  
Legal Development ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
Printed Word ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Comprehensive Study

Although the transformative influence of the printed word is acknowledged in the history of the common law (I will focus primarily on law books), there is as yet no comprehensive study which looks at how the production and dissemination of that printed word was shaped by “communities of printers, booksellers, readers and (for want of a better word) censors”. Not only does this deprive us of a fascinating narrative on the history of the law book, but also, as a consequence, prevents us from tracking more accurately than before the impact of the printed word on legal development across the centuries. As only a book length study could provide a complete narrative on this history, the present article will focus on one part of this story, namely the impact of the practices of printers and booksellers (who were the most important members of the book trade and will therefore be collectively referred to as “the book trade”) on law book publishing in the eighteenth century.

Les traductions françaises des Commentaires de William Blackstone à la fin du XVIIIe siècle

2020 ◽  
Vol 88 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Filippo Ranieri
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Present Contribution ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
English Law ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

Summary The numerous translations through which the Commentaries on the Laws of England by William Blackstone – a milestone in the history of the common law – became known in France, and thus contributed for the first time to acquaint French jurists with English law, have been largely neglected by legal historians. The first section of the present contribution introduces the French anglophile visitors to England who, during the second half of the eighteenth century, disseminated the work of William Blackstone and its first translations in France. The biography and work of these first translators require a detailed examination. A second section assesses the influence of these translations, particularly in the legal and political debates on the English trial by jury in the context of revolutionary legislation. A third section considers the later translations of Blackstone’s work during the Napoleonic period and the following years. Finally, a call for further research outlines the impact of that translation literature.

Blackstone

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
John V. Orth
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Legal Education ◽  
First Century ◽  
Legal Development ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Law ◽  
The University ◽  
Law Professors

This chapter focuses on Sir William Blackstone (1723–1780), the author of the most important book in the history of the common law. The four-volume Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–1769) and the series of lectures Blackstone delivered at Oxford from 1753, changed the way lawyers thought about the law. Blackstone’s Commentaries were read by more people, non-lawyers as well as lawyers, than any other English law book. Their influence is difficult to overstate, and extends into the twenty-first century. Almost as momentous was Blackstone’s influence on legal education. While gradual, the transfer of legal education from the law office and the courts to the university, which Blackstone pioneered, had an enormous impact on legal development, as law professors contributed to the formation of generations of lawyers and themselves came to play a significant role in legal development.

Status: Problems of Definition and Use

1984 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey MacCormack
Keyword(s):  
Social Theory ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Legal Development ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Ancient Law ◽  
Tribal Societies ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Law

Sir Henry Maine's Ancient Law, first published in 1861, postulated legal development in terms of an evolution from status to contract. Since that time both lawyers and anthropologists have made frequent use of the notion of status in their characterisation of law or society. Although status is a concept well known in social theory whose exponents, independently of Maine, have worked out its content and application, much that has been written about status in a legal or anthropological context owes its inspiration to him. Maine's status to contract thesis has proved of interest both to lawyers studying the history of the common law or modern developments in the law of contract and to anthropologists studying social and legal phenomena in simple or tribal societies.

scholarly journals Honos alit artes. Studi per il settantesimo compleanno di Mario Ascheri. IV. L’età moderna e contemporanea

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Social History ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Legal Tradition ◽  
Administration Of Justice ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
History Of Europe ◽  
The Relationship

The studies included in this volume analyze the legal and social history of Europe and North America by the end of the eighteenth century to the contemporary age. The study investigates the relationship between culture and legal status (science, law and government), the administration of justice and the transformation of the legal professions. That lights up the separation, in the whole complex of Western legal tradition, that identifies the countries of the common law.

Crime, Compurgation and the Courts of the Medieval Church

1983 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Helmholz
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Source Material ◽  
Legal Development ◽  
Medieval Church ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Relationship

The history of criminal law has claimed an increasing share of the attention of legal and social historians in recent years. Undeterred by Professor Milsom's verdict that in the area of English criminal law, ‘nothing worthwhile was created,’ historians have plunged into the study of doctrine and practice in the common law courts. The attractions of the source material are undoubtedly great. The law is relatively straightforward, at least compared to land litigation. The cases are interesting and sometimes sensational. The subject matter promises rewards in understanding the relationship between social change and legal development. And the study may even be immediately relevant, shedding light on current law enforcement problems.

The Nobility and the State in Angevin and Post-Angevin England

2019 ◽  
pp. 401-441
Author(s):  
Peter Coss
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Common Law ◽  
The State ◽  
Half Century ◽  
Magna Carta ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Impact

This chapter examines the fortunes of the aristocracy in England between the mid-twelfth and the mid-thirteenth century, beginning with the impact of Angevin kingship upon the aristocratic world and the great aristocratic revolt which led to Magna Carta. We will look at the impact of the Common Law upon both the high aristocracy and minor aristocracy/knights. We turn then to examining the changes that were taking place within the aristocracy itself within this period, that is to say the impact of chivalric knighthood and the delineation of nobility. The emphasis throughout is upon power relations rather than the development of the ‘constitution’. The chapter also looks at aristocratic values through the near-contemporary History of William the Marshal. The last part of the chapter looks at the half-century following Magna Carta, not in teleological terms. but in its own right. Finally, the chapter re-examines the origins of bastard feudalism.

Common Law Constitutionalism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Legal Profession ◽  
Legal Institutions ◽  
Law System ◽  
The Common ◽  
Common Law System

This chapter shows how common law pleading, the use of common law vocabulary, and substantive common law rules lay at the foundation of every colony’s law by the middle of the eighteenth century. There is some explanation of how this common law system functioned in practice. The chapter then discusses why colonials looked upon the common law as a repository of liberty. It also discusses in detail the development of the legal profession individually in each of the thirteen colonies. Finally, the chapter ends with a discussion of the role of legislation. It shows that, although legislation had played an important role in the development of law and legal institutions in the seventeenth century, eighteenth-century Americans were suspicious of legislation, with the result that the output of pre-Revolutionary legislatures was minimal.

Book Reviews, The Common Law Tort of Defamation, and the Suppression of Scholarly Debate

2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 656-670
Author(s):  
Kate Sutherland
Keyword(s):  
Academic Freedom ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Academic Journal ◽  
Canadian Law ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Defamation Law

Professor Joseph Weiler will soon stand trial for criminal libel in France for refusing to remove a book review from a website associated with an academic journal for which he serves as editor. His case has disturbing implications for all those who write, edit, and publish critical scholarly work. In this article, I explore those implications for Canadian scholars at home and as members of a global scholarly community. I assess the likelihood of success of a similar complaint under Canadian defamation law, and I consider the impact of libel chill and libel tourism. I conclude that although the defendant in such a case would have a good chance of prevailing under Canadian law through the defense of fair comment, a threat to academic freedom remains that requires action on the part of individuals and institutions committed to its preservation and enhancement.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document