The Lawi's independent, original research takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective, too.
If everyone who reads our entries, who uses it, helps to support it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $5, you can support the Encyclopedia of Law entries on Historical and support the Lawi project – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. Join Us
Thematic Index
Entries Categorized: Historical (64)
Below you'll find a list of all entries that have been categorized as Historical
Gain an edge and make smarter decisions with more content about Historical. Support now this subject and we will create more quality information about it
Age of Glanvill
Civil Justice under Henry II
Developments Henry’s innovations under this head were equally important than in the Criminal Justice. See Criminal Justice under Henry II here In his reign justice, it is sometimes said, was pigeon–holed. Much attention was bestowed on the formalities of litigation; while pleas began [...]Common Law
Definition of Common Law In accordance with the work A Dictionary of Law, this is a description of Common Law : 1. The part of English law based on rules developed by the royal courts during the first three centuries after the Norman Conquest (1066) as a system applicable to the whole country, [...]Court of St James
Court of St James's The official name of the royal court of Britain, because St James's Palace was the main royal residence in London during the 18C, when -in accordance to Bamber Gascoigne´ Encyclopedia of Britain about “Court of St James's”- the phrase was established. Diplomats from [...]Court Records under Henry Vi
This issue under the Ruling of King Henry VI of England Court Records under Henry VI and Medieval Law Court Records under Henry VI and Legal History This issue under the Ruling of King Henry VI of England Court Records under Henry VI and Medieval Law Court Records under Henry VI and Legal [...]Curia Regis
Curia Regis, or King's Council or Aula Regis was a term used in England from the time of the Norman Conquest to about the end of the 13th century to describe -according to the entry Curia Regis of the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.)- a council and a court of justice, the composition and [...]District Courts
District Courts in England History of Local or District Courts Local or District Courts Justice was originally a local product, administered in rude tribunals which partook more or less of a popular character. Each shire had its assembly for hearing pleas, known as a “shire–moot” in [...]Ecclesiastical Committee
Ecclesiastical Committee Meaning, as used in the UK Parliament The Ecclesiastical Committee examines draft measures presented to it by the Legislative Committee of the General Synod of the Church of England.Ecclesiastical Courts
(Source: the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) No distinct system of ecclesiastical courts existed in England before the twelfth century. Rather, bishops of the church were also secular lords, who exercised their authority through the local assemblies. In the shire court, the [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Edward I
This issue under the Ruling of King Edward I of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Edward I and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Edward I and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Adams, Norma, and Charles Donahue, ed. Select [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Edward Ii
This issue under the Ruling of King Edward II of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Edward II and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Edward II and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Ault, Warren O., ed. Court Rolls of the [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Edward Iii
This issue under the Ruling of King Edward III of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Edward III and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Edward III and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Clark, George T., ed. Cartae Et Alia [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Edward Iv
This issue under the Ruling of King Edward IV of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Edward IV and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Edward IV and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Clark, George T., ed. Cartae Et Alia [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Edward V
This issue under the Ruling of King Edward V of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Edward V and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Edward V and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Clark, George T., ed. Cartae Et Alia [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry I
This issue under the Ruling of King Henry I of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry I and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry I and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Bigelow, Melville M., ed. Placita [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry Ii
This issue under the Ruling of King Henry II of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry II and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry II and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Bigelow, Melville M., ed. Placita [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry Iii
This issue under the Ruling of King Henry III of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry III and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry III and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Adams, Norma, and Charles Donahue, ed. [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry Iv
This issue under the Ruling of King Henry IV of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry IV and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry IV and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Clark, George T., ed. Cartae Et Alia [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry V
This issue under the Ruling of King Henry V of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry V and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry V and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Clark, George T., ed. Cartae Et Alia Munimenta [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry Vi
This issue under the Ruling of King Henry VI of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry VI and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry VI and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Clark, George T., ed. Cartae Et Alia [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry Vii
This issue under the Ruling of King Henry VII of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry VII and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Henry VII and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Clark, George T., ed. Cartae Et Alia [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under John
This issue under the Ruling of John of England Ecclesiastical Courts under John and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under John and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Adams, Norma, and Charles Donahue, ed. Select Cases From the [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Richard I
This issue under the Ruling of King Richard I of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Richard I and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Richard I and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Bigelow, Melville M., ed. Placita [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Richard Ii
This issue under the Ruling of King Richard II of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Richard II and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Richard II and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Clark, George T., ed. Cartae Et Alia [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Richard Iii
This issue under the Ruling of King Richard III of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Richard III and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Richard III and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Clark, George T., ed. Cartae Et Alia [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under Stephen
This issue under the Ruling of Stephen of England Ecclesiastical Courts under Stephen and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under Stephen and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Bigelow, Melville M., ed. Placita Anglo-Normannica: [...]Ecclesiastical Courts under William
This issue under the Ruling of William of England Ecclesiastical Courts under William and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Courts under William and Legal History Legal Materials (Compiled by the University of South Caroline Gould School of Law) Bigelow, Melville M., ed. Placita Anglo-Normannica: [...]Ecclesiastical Law
Definition of Ecclesiastical Law In accordance with the work A Dictionary of Law, this is a description of Ecclesiastical Law : (canon law, ecclesiastical law) Church law, such as the Roman Catholic Code of Canon Law and, in England, the law of the Church of England. Unless subsequently [...]Ecclesiastical Tribunals
Ecclesiastical Tribunals and Medieval Law Ecclesiastical Tribunals and Legal History Resources See Also Legal History Review (in this legal Encyclopedia) Legal History Review (in this legal Encyclopedia) List of Medieval Laws (in this legal Encyclopedia) Guilds (in this legal [...]Escheat
History of Escheat Escheat, it has been said, “signifies the return of an estate to a lord, either on failure of issue from the tenant or upon account of such tenant’s felony.” (R. Thomson, Magna Charta, p. 236). This lucid description conveys a good general conception of escheat; but it [...]Events Leading to Magna Carta
The Great Charter is too often treated as the outcome of accidental causes; its sources are traced no deeper than the personal tyrannies and blunders of King John. That monarch’s misdeeds are held to have goaded into action a widespread opposition that never rested until it had achieved [...]Feudal Aids
The feudal tenant was expected to come to the aid of his lord in any special crisis or emergency. At first, the occasions on which these “aids” might be demanded were varied and undefined. Gradually they were limited to three. Glanvill, indeed, mentions only two: the knighting of the [...]Feudal Courts
History of Feudal Courts Feudal Courts Centuries before the Norman Conquest, the system of popular or district justice found itself confronted with a rival scheme of jurisdictions—the innumerable private courts belonging to the feudal lords. These private tribunals, known as feudal, [...]History of English Court System
Early History of the English Court System The process of separation of judicial from executive and legislative governmental powers continued during the reign of Edward I with the establishment of the Court of Exchequer as a tribunal having exclusive jurisdiction over revenue cases. See more [...]History of Magna Carta
The imminent danger of finding himself at war with his own rebellious barons persuaded -in accordance to Bamber Gascoigne´ Encyclopedia of Britain about “Magna Carta”- King John to fix his royal seal (on 15 June 1215 'in the meadow called Runnymede between Windsor and Staines') to this [...]History of the Law Society
Legal Profession in the sixteenth century By the mid-sixteenth century there were two branches of the legal profession: a) barristers, and b) attorneys and solicitors. Traditionally solicitors dealt with landed estates. On the other hand, attorneys advised parties in lawsuits. [...]Inns of Court
Introduction to Inns of Court Inns of Court, four institutions in London whose members comprise the bar of England and Wales. In order to become a barrister the aspirant must join an Inn as a student and dine in hall 18 times, as well as pass professional examinations, before being [...]Jane Yetsweirt
Jane Yetsweirt had been involved in the publication of Year Books. After the dead of her husband, she was a King's Printer. In Old Printed Editions of the Year Books of the Reign of King Edward III Year 1326-1327 ; Yetsweirt (Date of Publication: 1596 ) Year 1327-1328 ; Yetsweirt (Date [...]Law
History of Law in Britain Roman law and English law, both widely influential, are characterized -in accordance to Bamber Gascoigne´ Encyclopedia of Britain about “law”- by very different approaches. In broad terms Roman law follows a coherent written code and a set of principles, while [...]Law and Administration under Henry II
In our last lecture we discussed Henry II in his role as a French prince trying to build and maintain a great empire out of the various territories that his parents and his wife had given him. This is probably how contemporaries, and likely Henry himself, viewed his efforts and career. [...]Legal History
History Departments Anglia Polytechnic University, Cambridge, Cardiff University, Wales, City of Bath College, Bath, Dundee University- Scotland, Dundee The Greenwich Maritime Institute, London Leicester University, Leicester Sheffield Hallam University, [...]Lex Mercatoria
The Law Merchant The Treatise The Lex mercatoria was a short treatise, the earliest known treatment of what a later age would call “the law merchant.” It was written in England in the late thirteenth century and exists in only one known copy, which is found in sections of the Little Red [...]Magna Carta Juridical Nature
Introduction The juridical nature of the document to which John set his seal at Runnymede will be differently estimated according as it is judged by present–day or by medieval standards. The Early 20th Century Point of View Much ingenuity has been expended in the effort to discover [...]Medieval Roman Law
Medieval Roman Law and Medieval Law Medieval Roman Law and Legal History Medieval Roman Law and Medieval Law Medieval Roman Law and Legal History Resources See Also Usurpation (in this legal Encyclopedia) Usurpation (in this legal Encyclopedia) Ecclesiastical Courts (in this legal [...]Outline of English Legal History
Patronage in ancient Rome
Patronage in ancient Rome: Clients Patronage (clientela) Clients were citizens of the lower ranks in ancient Rome who chose a patron from the higher classes, whose duty it was to assist them in legal cases, and to take a paternal care of them. The clients, on the other hand, were obliged to [...]Primer Seisin
History of Primer Seisin Primer Seisin, which is usually regarded as a separate incident, and figures as such in Blackstone’s list, is perhaps better understood, not as an incident at all, but as a special procedure—effective and summary—whereby the Crown could enforce the four incidents [...]Richard Pynson
Richard Pynson had been involved in the publication of Year Books. He had, as King's Printer, a monopoly for the printing of statutes. Beale listed 139 editions by Pynson, including 92 year books. Pynson succeeded William Faques (d. 1508) as King's Printer. According to the book English [...]Richard Tottell
Richard Tottell had been involved in the publication of Year Books. He was a King's Printer. In 1553 Richard Tottell began his publications of the Year Books. . .Early in his publishing career Tottell began to publish the separate years in groups. Tottell received a second licencel, dated [...]Rival Courts
History of Rival Courts In the thirteenth century, there existed not one source of justice, but many. Rival courts, eagerly competing to extend their own sphere of usefulness and to increase their own fees, existed in a bewildering multitude. See more about Rival Courts below, including [...]Robert Redman
Robert Redman had been involved in the publication of Year Books. He was a King's Printer. In Old Printed Editions of the Year Books of the Reign of King Edward III Year 1354-1355 ; Redman (Date of Publication: 1535? ) Year 1355-1356 ; Redman (Date of Publication: 1535? ) Year [...]Royal Courts
History of Royal Courts Origins and Henry II Originally, the King’s Court had been merely one among many feudal courts—differing in degree rather than in kind from those of the great earls or barons. The King, as feudal lord, dispensed justice among his tenants, just as any baron or [...]Royal Justice in the Feudal Period
Introduction A well–known aphorism describes the King as “the sole fountain of justice.” It would be an anachronism to transport this metaphor into the thirteenth century. In John’s reign there still were, not one, but many competing jurisdictions. It was by no means certain that the [...]Scutage
Scutage before the Carta Magna Introduction The Crown did not always insist on personal service, but was frequently willing to accept a commutation in the form of a money payment. The subject of scutage is one of the most vexed of questions, all received opinions of yesterday having to–day [...]Suit and Service
This phrase expresses the essential obligations inherent in the very nature of the feudal tie. It may be expanded (as regards tenure in chivalry) into the duty of attendance at the lord’s court, whether met for administrative or judicial purposes, or for reasons of mere display, and the [...]Thomas Berthelet
Berthelet had been involved in the publication of Year Books, but this came to an end in 1532. he had, as King's Printer, a monopoly for the printing of statutes. In Old Printed Editions of the Year Books of the Reign of King Edward III Year 1346-1347 ; Berthelet (Date of Publication: [...]Thomas Wight
Thomas Wight had been involved in the publication of Year Books. He was a King's Printer. In Old Printed Editions of the Year Books of the Reign of King Edward III Year 1365-1366 ; Wight (Date of Publication: 1600 ) Year 1366-1367 ; Wight (Date of Publication: 1600 ) Year [...]Trade Unions
History of Trade Unions From the late Middle Ages there were occasional attempts by workers -in accordance to Bamber Gascoigne´ Encyclopedia of Britain about “Trade Unions”- to stand together when arguing with those who paid them, but the common law made it illegal to combine 'in [...]Treason
Treason in English Law Introduction to Treason Two grades of treason existed in early English law: high treason, which was directed against the Crown, and petty treason, which consisted of a crime against a subject, such as a wife killing her husband, or a servant murdering his master. In [...]Vulgate Edition
In Old Printed Editions of the Year Books of the Reign of King Edward III Year 1326-1327 ; Vulgate (Date of Publication: 1679 ) Year 1327-1328 ; Vulgate (Date of Publication: 1679 ) Year 1328-1329 ; Vulgate (Date of Publication: 1679 ) Year 1329-13230 ; Vulgate (Date of [...]Wardship
History of Wardship Wardships are described in the Dialogus de Scaccario as “escheats along with the heir” (escaeta cum herede).(Hughes’ edition, p. 133). This expression does not occur elsewhere, but it would be impossible to find any description of wardship which throws more light on [...]Year Book Reports
Year Book Law Reports Introduction The Year Books are the law reports of medieval England. The earliest examples date from about 1268, and the last in the printed series are for the year 1535. The Year Books are our principal source materials for the development of legal doctrines, [...]Year Books of the Reign of Edward III
List of Printed Year Reports in the Period of Edward III List of Old Printed Editions of the Year Books by year and name of the publication: Year 1326-1327 ; Tottell (Date of Publication: 1562 ) Year 1326-1327 ; Yetsweirt (Date of Publication: 1596 ) Year 1326-1327 ; [...]In Perpetual Beta
- - 141,230 in the past week
- - Total Visitors: 23,845,939
- - Total Page Views: 38,153,501
- - Page Visits in the past year: 12,537,600
- - Visitors in the past year: 7,836,000
Write With Us:
Reach a huge audience writing entries.
Find out more