As always during its long history, English common law, upon which American law is based, has had to defend itself against the challenge of civil law's clarity and traditions. That challenge to our common law heritage remains today. To that end, Liberty Fund now makes available a clear and candid discussion of common law. "A Concise History of the Common Law" provides a source for common-law understanding of individual rights, not in theory only, but protected through the confusing and messy evolution of courts, and their administration as they struggled to resolve real problems. Plucknett's seminal work is intended to convey a sense of historical development - not to serve merely as a work of reference. The first half of the book is a historical introduction to the study of law. Plucknett discusses the conditions in political, economic, social, and religious thought that have contributed to the genesis of law. This section is a brief but astoundingly full introduction to the study of law. The second half of the book consists of chapters introducing the reader to the history of some of the main divisions of law, such as criminal, tort, property, contract, and succession. These topics are treated with careful exposition so that the book will be of interest to those just embarking on their quest in legal history while still providing enough substantial information, references, and footnotes to make it meaningful for the well-versed legal history reader.

An important book by a preeminent scholar of English legal historyUsing evidence drawn from the Year Books from 20 Edw. I to 20 Edw. III Plucknett analyzes the nature of early statutes as seen in the rules for their construction and their use in court. He shows that the early statutes were more legislative than declaratory, and were treated as such by the courts. "This is an essay of absorbing interest and of great value to historians of the law. Every page shows not only immense industry, but sound learning." --Law Quarterly Review 39:138-139Theodore F. T. Plucknett 1897-1965] was a Fellow of the British Academy, Professor of Legal History in the University of London and author of A Concise History of the Common Law (1929).CONTENTSGeneral Preface by H.D. HazeltineAuthor's PrefaceTable of StatutesTable of Year Book CasesSourcesList of IncipitsIntroduction. The Problem and the EvidencePART I. Legislation and Legal thought in the Early Fourteenth CenturyThe Scope of the DiscussionCHAP. I. Origins and Early Forms of Written LawCHAP. II. Text and TranslationCHAP. III. The Legislature and its PlaceCHAP. IV. Statutes and the Common LawCHAP. V. Statutes and OrdinancesCHAP. VI. Legal ThoughtPART II. Examples of Interpretation Arrangement and GroupingCHAP. I. General Words and Literal ConstructionCHAP. II. The Intention of the LegislatureCHAP. III. "Exceptions out of the Statute"CHAP. IV. Refusal of the Courts to Apply StatutesCHAP. V. Extension of the Words of a StatuteCHAP. VI. Strict InterpretationCHAP. VII. Conflict of StatutesCHAP. VIII. Ignorance of Statutes among Contemporary LawyersCHAP. IX. The Retrospective Effect of StatutesCHAP. X.Judicial DiscretionCHAP. XI.Statutes and the Common LawCHAP. XII.Statutes and the Royal PrerogativeCHAP. XIII.Statutory WritsCHAP. XIV.The Interpretation of Particular StatutesConclusionAPPENDIX I. Texts of StatutesAPPENDIX II. Select CasesIndex

The Best Edition of this Classic History: A Comprehensive Legal History of England from the Anglo-Saxon Period through the 19th Century. Theodore Frank Thomas Plucknett 1897-1965] received his LL.B. from the University of Cambridge in 1920. He was a Fellow of the British Academy, Professor of Legal History, University of London, and Assistant Professor of Legal History at Harvard University. He was also the author of Early English Legal Literature (1958) and Edward I and Criminal Law (1960). "Professor Plucknett has such a solid reputation on both sides of the Atlantic that one expects from his pen only what is scholarly and accurate... Nor is the expectation likely to be disappointed in this book. Plucknett's book is not...a mere epitome of what is to be found elsewhere. He has explored on his own account many regions of legal history and, even where the ground has been already quartered, he has fresh methods of mapping it. The title which he has chosen is, in view of the contents of the volume, rather a narrow one. It might equally well have been A Concise History of English Law... In conjunction with Readings on the History and System of the Common Law by Dean Pound...this book will give an excellent grounding to the student of English legal history." --Percy H. Winfield. Harvard Law Review 43 (1929-30) 339-340. " T]his book, comprehensive yet not elementary, clear yet inviting further study on the part of the reader, remains an excellent introduction to legal history and the study of law."-- Harvard Law Review 50 (1937-38) 1012. SELECTED CONTENTS BOOK ONE A General Survey of Legal History Part I The Crown and the State Part II The Courts and the Profession Part III Some Factors in Legal History Book TWO Special Part Part I Procedure Part II Crime and Tort Part III Real Property Part IV Contract Part V Equity Part VI Succession Index

An important book by a preeminent scholar of English legal historyUsing evidence drawn from the Year Books from 20 Edw. I to 20 Edw. III Plucknett analyzes the nature of early statutes as seen in the rules for their construction and their use in court. He shows that the early statutes were more legislative than declaratory, and were treated as such by the courts. "This is an essay of absorbing interest and of great value to historians of the law. Every page shows not only immense industry, but sound learning." --Law Quarterly Review 39:138-139Theodore F. T. Plucknett 1897-1965] was a Fellow of the British Academy, Professor of Legal History in the University of London and author of A Concise History of the Common Law (1929).CONTENTSGeneral Preface by H.D. HazeltineAuthor's PrefaceTable of StatutesTable of Year Book CasesSourcesList of IncipitsIntroduction. The Problem and the EvidencePART I. Legislation and Legal thought in the Early Fourteenth CenturyThe Scope of the DiscussionCHAP. I. Origins and Early Forms of Written LawCHAP. II. Text and TranslationCHAP. III. The Legislature and its PlaceCHAP. IV. Statutes and the Common LawCHAP. V. Statutes and OrdinancesCHAP. VI. Legal ThoughtPART II. Examples of InterpretationArrangement and GroupingCHAP. I. General Words and Literal ConstructionCHAP. II. The Intention of the LegislatureCHAP. III. "Exceptions out of the Statute"CHAP. IV. Refusal of the Courts to Apply StatutesCHAP. V. Extension of the Words of a StatuteCHAP. VI. Strict InterpretationCHAP. VII. Conflict of StatutesCHAP. VIII. Ignorance of Statutes among Contemporary LawyersCHAP. IX. The Retrospective Effect of StatutesCHAP. X.Judicial DiscretionCHAP. XI.Statutes and the Common LawCHAP. XII.Statutes and the Royal PrerogativeCHAP. XIII.Statutory WritsCHAP. XIV.The Interpretation of Particular StatutesConclusionAPPENDIX I. Texts of StatutesAPPENDIX II. Select CasesIndex

Originally published in 1922, this book examines legal statutes and their interpretation in English courts during the reigns of Edward I, Edward II and Edward III. Distinguished legal historian Theodore Plucknett presents problems such as mistranslations, ignorance among lawyers and, in some instances, outright refusal by the courts to enforce certain statutes, and how these errors in enforcement changed the role of the government in lawmaking and legal practice. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in British legal history.