Expectations of the Law in the Middle Ages (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780851158426)

This book represents the first systematic examination of the expectations people had of the law in the middle ages. Up until now historians have used medieval legal records to demonstrate the operation of legal rules, the functioning of legal institutions and the development of the legal profession, but they have rarely considered the attitudes that arose as a result of the processes of law. The papers in this volume investigate the way expectations of the law were generated, captured, revealed or replayed for posterity in medieval Europe in jurisprudential reasoning, the activity of charter writing, the framing of definitions of 'liberty', the concern for historical justifications, and the phraseology of various forms of legislation and chancery bills. Attitudes and perceptions are also considered with regard to the active role played by rulers of European states in law-giving and in the organisation of legal institutions. Contextualising some of the developments in medieval law, this volume not only enables generalisations to be made about expectations of the law, but also highlights the existence of national and supra-national similarities as well as differences arising in medieval Europe. Dr ANTHONY MUSSON teaches in the School of Law at the University of Exeter. Contributors: RICHARD W. KAEUPER, D. HEIRBAUT, M. KORPIOLA, JUDITH EVERARD, CYNTHIA J. NEVILLE, JULIA C. CRICK, H. SUMMERSON, G. SEABOURNE, G. DODD, T. HASKETT, ANTHONY MUSSON, C. STEBBINGS, P. TUCKER

Author: Anthony Musson
ISBN-10: 0851158420
ISBN-13: 9780851158426
Publisher: Boydell Press
Language: English
Published: 11/03/2001
Pages: 218
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.08lbs
Size: 11.80h x 5.38w x 0.94d