Friday 14 May 2010 at 12:50
Oxford Legal History Forum
Lawyers, Laypeople and Legal Knowledge in Mid-Tudor England
Speaker: James McComish, Magdalen College, University of Oxford
Venue: Oxford Law Faculty 19A
How much did ordinary people know about the law in sixteenth century England? The answer might be less than we might expect.
Focussing on Oxfordshire and Berkshire 1540-1570, this paper casts a critical eye on the concepts of ‘law-mindedness’ and ‘popular legalism’ in the historiography of this period, and suggests that ease of access to legal advice—rather than a deep understanding of the law on the part of laypeople themselves—may be a better way of understanding the extent of public engagement with the legal system at the time.
Along the way, we will encounter some of the most colourful personalities of the era, from the defrauded villagers of Dorchester to the wastrel gentleman Sir Francis Stonor; and from the two-bit town steward of Banbury to pillars of the legal profession like Sir Edmund Plowden.
For more information please contact: Henry Mares
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Organised by the Oxford Legal History Forum
