Expectations of the Law in the Middle Ages

The first systematic examination of the expectations people had of the law in the middle ages.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.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

An important theme..., namely the role of law in the development of the medieval state... Enjoyable and enlightening. HISTORY This volume can definitely be singled-out as likely to be of genuine interest to any medievalist, as well as deserving of attention from legal historians in particular. Moreover, it is extremely readable, giving an account of a diverse range of topics and debates.

GWILYM DODD is Associate Professor of History at the University of Nottingham. HENRY SUMMERSON was awarded his Ph.D. by Cambridge University for a thesis on crime and law enforcement in England, 1227-1263. He has continued to work in this field, publishing numerous articles on aspects of medieval criminality, and editions, alone or in collaboration, of three crown pleas rolls, for Devon in 1238, Wiltshire in 1268 and Lancashire in 1292.