A Concise History of the Common Law

by Theodore F. T. Plucknett

Overview

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.

Theodore F. T. Plucknett (1897–1965) was an English legal historian. At twenty-six, he was appointed by Roscoe Pound as professor of legal history at Harvard Law School.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780865978072
Publisher:	Liberty Fund, Incorporated
Publication date:	11/19/2010
Edition description:	1st Edition
Pages:	828
Sales rank:	751,662
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 2.20(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Table of Contents

Preface v
Table of Mediaeval Cases xi
Table of Modern Cases xvii
Table of Laws and Statutes xix

BOOK ONE

A GENERAL SURVEY OF LEGAL HISTORY

PART I

THE CROWN AND THE STATE

1. The Anglo-Saxon Period:  Races and Religion 6
2. The Conquest to Henry II:  The Beginnings of Administration 11
3. The Great Charters:  Law Separates From Administration 20
4. Edward I to Richard II:  Statutes and Social Revolution 27
5. The Fifteenth Century:  The Problem of Enforcement 35
6. The Tudors:  Renaissance, Reformation and Reception 39
7. The Stuarts:  Struggle for the Supremacy of Law 48
8. The Eighteenth Century:  Industrial Revolution 65
9. The Nineteenth Century:  Liberalism and Reform 73

PART II

THE COURTS AND THE PROFESSION

1. The Communal Courts 83
2. Seignorial Jurisdiction 95
3. The Crown and Local Courts 101
4. The Jury 106
5. The Origins of the Central Courts 139
6. The Elaboration of the Judicial System: 1307-1509 157
7. The Tudors and the Common Law Courts 170
8. The Rise of the Prerogative Courts 176
9. Prerogative, Equity and Law under the Stuarts 191
10. Parliament and the Privy Council 199
11. The Courts in the Nineteenth Century 207
12. The Legal Profession 215
13. The Growth of the Judiciary 231
14. Professional Literature 252

PART III

SOME FACTORS IN LEGAL HISTORY

1. The Civil Law of Rome 294
2. The Canon Law of the Church 301
3. Custom 307
4. Legislation 315
5. The Principle of Precedent 342

BOOK TWO

SPECIAL PART

PART I

PROCEDURE

1. The Forms of Action 353
2. Civil Procedure 379
3. Pleading 399

PART II

CRIME AND TORT

1. Criminal Procedure 424
2. The Felonies 442
3. Misdemeanours, Trespass and Tort 455
4. Liability, Civil and Criminal 463
5. Defamation 483

PART III

REAL PROPERTY

1. Feudalism 506
2. Feudalism in England 516
3. Inheritance and Alienability 521
4. Tenures and Incidents 531
5. The Rise of the Entail 546
6. The Common Law Estates down to 1540 558
7. Uses and the Statute 575
8. The Later Law of Real Property 588
9. The Mortgage 603
10. Conveyances 610

PART IV

CONTRACT

1. Origins 628
2. The Fourteenth Century 633
3. Assumpsit to Slade's Case 637
4. Contract After Slade's Case 647
5. Law Merchant and Admiralty 657

PART V

EQUITY

1. The Early History of Equity 675
2. The Formative Period 685
3. The Work of the Chancellors 695

PART VI

SUCCESSION

1. Inheritance 712
2. Intestacy 725
3. Wills 732

INDEX

Editorial Reviews

The Midwest Book Review
February 2011

The history of law in the western world is one that spans back centuries. A Concise History of the Common Law traces the history of common law back to the time of the Romans and how it has over the centuries developed into what it is today. The events of conquest, Christianity, the Enlightenment, and more has seriously impacted the events, and Theodore Plucknett breaks down these events into a fascinating study. A Concise History of the Common Law is a must for any community library collection touching on the history of law.


SirReadaLot.org
February 2011

A detailed table of contents; three extensive reference tables of historical cases, modern cases, and laws and statutes; and a comprehensive index provide ample help for readers. Clear and candid, Plucknett's seminal work is intended to convey a sense of historical development - not to serve merely as a work of reference. Written in an engaging writing style, A Concise History of the Common Law 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 well-versed legal history readers.

From the Publisher