Difference between revisions of "Year Books"

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Les Reports des Cases Argue and Adjudge in le Temps del'Roy: Edward I - Henrie VIII''}}
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:The Year Books}}
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===by ===
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{{BookPageInfoBox
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__NOTOC__
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|imagename=ReportsDesCasesArgueAndAdjudge1678v9TitlePage.jpg
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The Reports des Cases Argue and Adjudge in le temps del’Roy: Edward I-Henry VIII is a 1679 compilation of the early legal yearbooks.<ref>Percy H. Winfield, ''The Chief Sources of English Legal History'' (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1925),171.</ref> The yearbooks were early reporters written in Law French that scholars believe were first authored in the late thirteenth century.<ref>Ibid. 158-59</ref>  Thereafter, various, often anonymous authors created the books until 1535.<ref>Ibid. 159</ref>   A popular, incorrect belief, held by Bacon, Blackstone, Coke, and Plowden, was that the works were the product of several regally-appointed reporters.<ref>Ibid.</ref>  However, there is no evidence for this assertion.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Moreover, scholar Percy Winfield asserts that official reporters would not commit the mistakes found in the yearbooks.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Of these errors Winfield remarks, “They make astonishing blunders in names, they write down scandal, they report conversations with their friends, they make remarks on the weather, and they tell us how the judges swore and snubbed counsel.”<ref>Ibid.</ref> In addition, the books do not “impart an elementary education” and they “assume a complete familiarity with procedure on the part of the men likely to use them.”<ref>Ibid. 161</ref> However, the books represent an important evolutionary step in the creation of the modern reporter and these errors, irreconcilable to the modern scholar, are simply early experiments in expressing the law on paper.<ref>Ibid. 161-62</ref><br />
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|link=https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991024234249703196
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|shorttitle=Les Reports des Cases Argue and Adjudge in le Temps del'Roy: Edward I - Henrie VIII
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|commontitle=Yearbooks
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|editor=[[:Category:John Maynard|John Maynard]] and [[:Category:Richard de Winchedon|Richard de Winchedon]]
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|vol=volume nine
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|publoc=[[:Category:London|London]]
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|publisher=s.n.
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|year=1678-1680
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|edition=Serjeant Maynard's edition
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|lang=[[:Category:French|Law French]]
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|set=11
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|desc=[[:Category:Folios|Folio (39 cm.)]]
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|shelf=C-5
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}}[[File:ReportsDesCasesArgueAndAdjudge1678v4InitialCapital.jpg|left|thumb|180px|<center>Initial capital, first page of text, volume four.</center>]]A compilation of the [[wikipedia:Year Books|Year Books]], early reporters written in Law French, scholars believe the first volumes were authored in the late thirteenth century.<ref>Percy H. Winfield, ''The Chief Sources of English Legal History'' (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1925), 158-159.</ref> The others compiled by various&mdash;often anonymous&mdash;authors before 1536.<ref>Ibid., 159.</ref> [[wikipedia:Francis Bacon|Bacon]], [[wikipedia:William Blackstone|Blackstone]], [[wikipedia:Edward Coke|Coke]], and [[wikipedia:Edmund Plowden|Plowden]] thought the Year Books were the product of several regally-appointed reporters, but there is no evidence for this assertion.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Moreover, scholar Percy Winfield asserts that official reporters would not commit the mistakes found in the yearbooks.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Of these errors, Winfield remarks "They make astonishing blunders in names, they write down scandal, they report conversations with their friends, they make remarks on the weather, and they tell us how the judges swore and snubbed counsel."<ref>Ibid.</ref> In addition, the books do not "impart an elementary education" and they "assume a complete familiarity with procedure on the part of the men likely to use them."<ref>Ibid., 161.</ref> But, the Year Books do represent an evolutionary step in the creation of the modern reporter.<ref>Ibid., 161-62.</ref>
  
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Instead of being produced by an official authority, it is likely that the yearbooks were the work of numerous entrepreneurs.<ref>Ibid. 160</ref> The fact that the yearbooks vary so greatly in style and content suggests different, unofficial authors.<ref>W. S. Holdsworth, ''A History of English Law, Vol. VI'' (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1924) 535</ref> Scholar William Holdsworth contends that the yearbooks evolved from the work of students.<ref>Ibid. 536-37</ref> Because there was no official report on the proceedings of court, their notes became a source of knowledge for those not in attendance. <ref>Ibid.</ref>As the yearbook period progressed, the reporting became more standardized and the extraneous details that characterized the early reports gradually faded. <ref>Ibid. 541</ref>The case itself became the main concern. <ref>Ibid.</ref><br />
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Instead of being produced by an official authority, it is likely that the Year Books were the work of numerous entrepreneurs, as they vary greatly in style and content.<ref>W. S. Holdsworth, ''A History of English Law'' (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1924), 2:535.</ref> Scholar [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Searle_Holdsworth William Holdsworth] contends that the Year Books evolved from the work of students.<ref>Ibid., 536-37.</ref> As the years progressed, reporting became more standardized. Extraneous details that characterized the early reports gradually faded, and the cases became the main concern.<ref>Ibid., 541.</ref>
  
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Gradually, the yearbook form began to fall out of use and in 1535, the last one was published.<ref>Percy H. Winfield, ''The Chief Sources of English Legal History'' (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1925), 171.</ref> By 1678, the books were so scarce that a full set sold for £40.<ref>W. S. Holdsworth, ''A History of English Law, Vol. VI'' (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1924) 529</ref>Bemoaning this scarcity as a “detriment to the study of law,” judges demanded that the books be republished.<ref>Percy H. Winfield, ''The Chief Sources of English Legal History'' (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1925), 171.</ref> In 1679, the books experienced a brief revival when they were reissued.<ref>Ibid.</ref> However, this was short-lived, as the books had ceased to be of any use to practicing lawyers. <ref>Ibid. 171-72</ref> Few lawyers could read the archaic language and newer books served their needs more thoroughly. <ref>Ibid.</ref> In addition, most of the useful information from the yearbooks could be found in the Abridgements. <ref>Ibid. 171</ref> In the 20th century, the books experienced another revival, however scholars generally limited their use to historical research. <ref>Ibid.</ref> They remain a useful tool for understanding the features of life in medieval England and the evolution of legal thought.<ref>Ibid.</ref>
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The form began to fall out of use, and in 1535 the last Year Book was published.<ref>Winfield, ''The Chief Sources of English Legal History'', 171.</ref> By 1678, the books were so scarce that a full set sold for &pound;40.<ref>Holdsworth, ''A History of English Law'' 529.</ref> Bemoaning this scarcity as a "detriment to the study of law," judges demanded that the Year Books be republished, and they experienced a brief revival when they were reissued in 1679.<ref>Winfield, ''The Chief Sources of English Legal History'' 171.</ref> But this was short-lived, as they had ceased to be of any use to practicing lawyers.<ref>Ibid., 171-72.</ref> Few lawyers could read the archaic language, and newer books served their needs more thoroughly.<ref>Ibid.</ref> In addition, most of the useful information from the Year Books could be found in the Abridgements.<ref>Ibid., 171.</ref> In the twentieth century, the Year Books experienced another revival for scholars interested in historical research, and they remain a useful tool for understanding the features of life in medieval England and the evolution of legal thought.<ref>Ibid.</ref>
  
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==Bibliographic Information==
 
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'''Author:'''
 
  
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'''Title:''' Les Reports des Cases Argue and Adjudge in le Temps del'Roy: Edward I - Henrie VIII
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[[File:ReportsDesCasesArgueAndAdjudge1678v1Headpiece.jpg|center|thumb|400px|<center>Headpiece, first page of text, volume one.</center>]]
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==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
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Wythe cited volume nine of the Year Books, ''Les Reports des Cases en Ley que Furent Argues en Temps du Roy Edward le Quart'', in his arguments in ''[[Bolling v. Bolling]]'': "yet his action is gone for ever, which is agreed to by all the justices according to the report 21 E.4...."<ref>Bernard Schwartz, Barbara Wilcie Kern, R. B. Bernstein, eds., ''Thomas Jefferson and Bolling v. Bolling: Law and the Legal Profession in Pres-Revolutionary America'' (San Marino, CA: The Huntington Library; New York: New York University School of Law, 1997), 266.</ref> Brown's Bibliography<ref>Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433.</ref> includes the entire set of ''Yearbooks'' compiled by John Maynard and Richard de Winchedon (1678-1680). Brown does acknowledge the possibility that Wythe used a copy owned by the Council Library or someone else. The Wolf Law Library agreed with Brown that Wythe likely owned his own copy, and purchased the 1678-1680 set.
  
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'''Publication Info:''' London: 1678-1680.  
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==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
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Bound in modern quarter calf over marbled boards. Each volume includes the signature "Nic. Starkie" on the title page.
  
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'''Edition:'''
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Images of the library's copy of this book are [https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolflawlibrary/sets/72157658359684095 available on Flickr.] View the record for this set in [https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991024234249703196 William &amp; Mary's online catalog.]
  
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==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
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===Full text===
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The series in the Year Books include:
 +
#[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/MaynardReportsEdwardII1678.pdf ''Les Reports des Cases Argue & Adjudge in le Temps del' Roy Edward le Second et Auxy Memoranda del' Exchequer en Temps le Roy Edward le Primer'']  (74MB PDF)
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#[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/FirstPartOfTheReportsOfEdwardIII1679.pdf ''Le Premier Part de les Reports del' Cases en Ley: que Furent Argues en le Temps de le Tres Haut & Puissant Prince Roy Edward le Tierce''] (65MB PDF)
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#[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/SecondPartOfTheReportsOfEdwardIII1679.pdf ''Le Second Part de les Reports del' Cases en Ley: que Furent Argues en le Temps de le Tres Haut & Puissant Prince Roy Edward le Tierce''] (60MB PDF)
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#[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/ThirdPartOfTheReportsOfEdwardIII1679.pdf ''Reports del Cases en Ley que Furent Argues a Quadragesimo ad Quinquagesimum Annum des Tres Haut & Puissant Prince Roy Edward le Tierce''] (44MB PDF)
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#[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/PleasOfTheCrown1679.pdf ''Le Livre des Assises et pleas del' Corone: Moves & Dependants Devant les Justices Sibien en lour Circuits come Aylours, en Temps du Roy Edward le Tiers''] (42MB PDF)
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#[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/ReportsOfHenryIVAndHenryV1679.pdf ''Les Reports del Cases en Ley que Furent Argues en le Temps de Tres Haut & Puissant Princes les Roys, Henry le IV. & Henry le V.''] (48MB PDF)
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#[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/FirstPartOfTheReportsOfHenryVI1679.pdf ''Le Premiere Part des Ans du Roy Henry le VI''] (69MB PDF)
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#[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/SecondPartOfTheReportsOfHenryVI1679.pdf ''Les Reports des Cases Contenus in les Ans Vingt Premier, & Apres en Temps du Roy Henry le VI. Communement Appelles, the Second Part of Henry the Sixth''] (72MB PDF)
 +
#[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/ReportsOfEdwardIV1680.pdf ''Les Reports des Cases en Ley que Furent Argues en Temps du Roy Edward le Quart''] (84MB PDF)
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#[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/ReportsOfTheFifthYearOfEdwardIV1680.pdf ''Les Reports des Cases en Ley en la Cinque as du Roy Edward le Quart''] (17MB PDF)
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#[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/ReportsOfEdwardVRichardIIIHenryVIIAndHenryVIII1679.pdf ''Les Reports des Cases en les Ans des Roys Edward V, Richard III, Henrie VII, & Henrie VIII''] (68MB PDF)
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==See also==
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*[[George Wythe Room]]
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*[[Wythe's Library]]
  
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==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
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==References==
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View this book in [https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/law/Record/3695138 William & Mary's online catalog.]
 
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===References===
 
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
  
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__NOTOC__
 
[[Category:Case Reports]]
 
[[Category:Case Reports]]
 
[[Category:George Wythe Collection at William & Mary's Wolf Law Library]]
 
[[Category:George Wythe Collection at William & Mary's Wolf Law Library]]
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[[Category:John Maynard]]
 
[[Category:King's Bench Reports]]
 
[[Category:King's Bench Reports]]
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[[Category:Richard de Winchedon]]
 
[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]
 
[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]
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[[Category:Folios]]
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[[Category:French]]
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[[Category:London]]

Latest revision as of 12:09, 4 October 2021

Yearbooks
ReportsDesCasesArgueAndAdjudge1678v9TitlePage.jpg

Title page from Les Reports des Cases Argue and Adjudge in le Temps del'Roy: Edward I - Henrie VIII, volume nine, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary.

Author {{{author}}}
Editor John Maynard and Richard de Winchedon
Translator {{{trans}}}
Published London: s.n.
Date 1678-1680
Edition Serjeant Maynard's edition
Language Law French
Volumes 11 volume set
Pages {{{pages}}}
Desc. Folio (39 cm.)
Location Shelf C-5
  [[Shelf {{{shelf2}}}]]
Initial capital, first page of text, volume four.
A compilation of the Year Books, early reporters written in Law French, scholars believe the first volumes were authored in the late thirteenth century.[1] The others compiled by various—often anonymous—authors before 1536.[2] Bacon, Blackstone, Coke, and Plowden thought the Year Books were the product of several regally-appointed reporters, but there is no evidence for this assertion.[3] Moreover, scholar Percy Winfield asserts that official reporters would not commit the mistakes found in the yearbooks.[4] Of these errors, Winfield remarks "They make astonishing blunders in names, they write down scandal, they report conversations with their friends, they make remarks on the weather, and they tell us how the judges swore and snubbed counsel."[5] In addition, the books do not "impart an elementary education" and they "assume a complete familiarity with procedure on the part of the men likely to use them."[6] But, the Year Books do represent an evolutionary step in the creation of the modern reporter.[7]

Instead of being produced by an official authority, it is likely that the Year Books were the work of numerous entrepreneurs, as they vary greatly in style and content.[8] Scholar William Holdsworth contends that the Year Books evolved from the work of students.[9] As the years progressed, reporting became more standardized. Extraneous details that characterized the early reports gradually faded, and the cases became the main concern.[10]

The form began to fall out of use, and in 1535 the last Year Book was published.[11] By 1678, the books were so scarce that a full set sold for £40.[12] Bemoaning this scarcity as a "detriment to the study of law," judges demanded that the Year Books be republished, and they experienced a brief revival when they were reissued in 1679.[13] But this was short-lived, as they had ceased to be of any use to practicing lawyers.[14] Few lawyers could read the archaic language, and newer books served their needs more thoroughly.[15] In addition, most of the useful information from the Year Books could be found in the Abridgements.[16] In the twentieth century, the Year Books experienced another revival for scholars interested in historical research, and they remain a useful tool for understanding the features of life in medieval England and the evolution of legal thought.[17]


Headpiece, first page of text, volume one.

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

Wythe cited volume nine of the Year Books, Les Reports des Cases en Ley que Furent Argues en Temps du Roy Edward le Quart, in his arguments in Bolling v. Bolling: "yet his action is gone for ever, which is agreed to by all the justices according to the report 21 E.4...."[18] Brown's Bibliography[19] includes the entire set of Yearbooks compiled by John Maynard and Richard de Winchedon (1678-1680). Brown does acknowledge the possibility that Wythe used a copy owned by the Council Library or someone else. The Wolf Law Library agreed with Brown that Wythe likely owned his own copy, and purchased the 1678-1680 set.

Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy

Bound in modern quarter calf over marbled boards. Each volume includes the signature "Nic. Starkie" on the title page.

Images of the library's copy of this book are available on Flickr. View the record for this set in William & Mary's online catalog.

Full text

The series in the Year Books include:

  1. Les Reports des Cases Argue & Adjudge in le Temps del' Roy Edward le Second et Auxy Memoranda del' Exchequer en Temps le Roy Edward le Primer (74MB PDF)
  2. Le Premier Part de les Reports del' Cases en Ley: que Furent Argues en le Temps de le Tres Haut & Puissant Prince Roy Edward le Tierce (65MB PDF)
  3. Le Second Part de les Reports del' Cases en Ley: que Furent Argues en le Temps de le Tres Haut & Puissant Prince Roy Edward le Tierce (60MB PDF)
  4. Reports del Cases en Ley que Furent Argues a Quadragesimo ad Quinquagesimum Annum des Tres Haut & Puissant Prince Roy Edward le Tierce (44MB PDF)
  5. Le Livre des Assises et pleas del' Corone: Moves & Dependants Devant les Justices Sibien en lour Circuits come Aylours, en Temps du Roy Edward le Tiers (42MB PDF)
  6. Les Reports del Cases en Ley que Furent Argues en le Temps de Tres Haut & Puissant Princes les Roys, Henry le IV. & Henry le V. (48MB PDF)
  7. Le Premiere Part des Ans du Roy Henry le VI (69MB PDF)
  8. Les Reports des Cases Contenus in les Ans Vingt Premier, & Apres en Temps du Roy Henry le VI. Communement Appelles, the Second Part of Henry the Sixth (72MB PDF)
  9. Les Reports des Cases en Ley que Furent Argues en Temps du Roy Edward le Quart (84MB PDF)
  10. Les Reports des Cases en Ley en la Cinque as du Roy Edward le Quart (17MB PDF)
  11. Les Reports des Cases en les Ans des Roys Edward V, Richard III, Henrie VII, & Henrie VIII (68MB PDF)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Percy H. Winfield, The Chief Sources of English Legal History (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1925), 158-159.
  2. ↑ Ibid., 159.
  3. ↑ Ibid.
  4. ↑ Ibid.
  5. ↑ Ibid.
  6. ↑ Ibid., 161.
  7. ↑ Ibid., 161-62.
  8. ↑ W. S. Holdsworth, A History of English Law (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1924), 2:535.
  9. ↑ Ibid., 536-37.
  10. ↑ Ibid., 541.
  11. ↑ Winfield, The Chief Sources of English Legal History, 171.
  12. ↑ Holdsworth, A History of English Law 529.
  13. ↑ Winfield, The Chief Sources of English Legal History 171.
  14. ↑ Ibid., 171-72.
  15. ↑ Ibid.
  16. ↑ Ibid., 171.
  17. ↑ Ibid.
  18. ↑ Bernard Schwartz, Barbara Wilcie Kern, R. B. Bernstein, eds., Thomas Jefferson and Bolling v. Bolling: Law and the Legal Profession in Pres-Revolutionary America (San Marino, CA: The Huntington Library; New York: New York University School of Law, 1997), 266.
  19. ↑ Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433.
Retrieved from "http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/index.php?title=Year_Books&oldid=71629"