History of English Law

This course studies the history of the judicial system and sources of English law, and of the principal features of the branches of law that are today known as tort, contract, land law, and trusts. The course is taught using a selection of primary sources (in translation where necessary) and of academic literature. The timespan covered varies with each topic but is roughly between the thirteenth and the nineteenth century. This period, of course, contains a large number of separable issues, and the assessment is designed so that individuals can follow to some extent their own preferences, both amongst and within the major heads of study.

The treatment of the subject is primarily legal, though the political, social and economic constituents in the story are referred to whenever this assists our perception of specifically legal ideas. The teaching presumes a familiarity with the notions of property, tort and contract. The legal history does not serve as an introduction to the modern law; if anything, the converse is the case. It is in this sense an advanced course; the feedback to the modern law is conceptual or theoretical, though a study of the history may occasionally illuminate a modern problem. There is, however, absolutely no need to have studied any other kind of English history, nor is familiarity with foreign languages necessary since the course is designed around translated materials.

By the end of this course, students should have:

• An understanding of the origins of English law and the judicial system
• A more specialised knowledge of developments in English law during the period between the thirteenth and nineteenth century, including an understanding of relevant social, political and economic contexts.