Difference between revisions of "New Natura Brevium"
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| − | }}''The New Natura Brevium'' was a highly influential treatise on English law first issued in French in 1534 and written by Sir Anthony Fitzherbert (1470-1538), an English judge, scholar, and "one of the best-known English legal writers of the sixteenth century."<ref>J. H. Baker, [http://www.oxforddnb.com.proxy.wm.edu/view/article/9602 "Fitzherbert, Sir Anthony (c.1470–1538)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 18 Sept 2013.</ref> Frequently cited in judgments for more than two hundred years following its publication,<ref>William Douthwaite, ''Gray’s Inn'' (London: Reeves and Turner, 1886), 46.</ref> ''The New Natura Brevium'' is an important text on 16th century common law.<br /> | + | }}''The New Natura Brevium'' was a highly influential treatise on English law first issued in French in 1534 and written by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Fitzherbert Sir Anthony Fitzherbert] (1470-1538), an English judge, scholar, and "one of the best-known English legal writers of the sixteenth century."<ref>J. H. Baker, [http://www.oxforddnb.com.proxy.wm.edu/view/article/9602 "Fitzherbert, Sir Anthony (c.1470–1538)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 18 Sept 2013.</ref> Frequently cited in judgments for more than two hundred years following its publication,<ref>William Douthwaite, ''Gray’s Inn'' (London: Reeves and Turner, 1886), 46.</ref> ''The New Natura Brevium'' is an important text on 16th century common law.<br /> |
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| − | Fitzherbert had already published ''Magnum Abbreviamentum'', an abridgment of the year books,<ref>''Encyclopedia Britannica'', s.v. "Fitzherbert, Sir Anthony."</ref> "a massive digest of 13,845 cases ... arranged under alphabetical headings."<ref>Baker, "Fitzherbert, Sir Anthony."</ref> In 1522, he was made a judge of common pleas and was knighted, although he continued to write and soon after published three works: one on law, one on agriculture, and one of law and agriculture combined.<ref>''Ibid."</ref><br /> | + | Fitzherbert had already published ''Magnum Abbreviamentum'', an abridgment of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Books year books],<ref>''Encyclopedia Britannica'', s.v. "Fitzherbert, Sir Anthony."</ref> "a massive digest of 13,845 cases ... arranged under alphabetical headings."<ref>Baker, "Fitzherbert, Sir Anthony."</ref> In 1522, he was made a judge of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_Common_Pleas_%28England%29 common pleas] and was knighted, although he continued to write and soon after published three works: one on law, one on agriculture, and one of law and agriculture combined.<ref>''Ibid."</ref><br /> |
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It is for ''The New Natura Brevium'' that Fitzherbert is most well-known. In it he touches on an array of legal issues ranging from the skill and care one is owed by an expert, the cause of action for a victim of fraud, and the scope of liability for trespasses on land.<ref>Douthwaite, ''Gray’s Inn.''</ref> His analysis was crucial to the development of English common law,<ref>''Ibid."</ref> and consequently the foundation of the United States’ legal system. | It is for ''The New Natura Brevium'' that Fitzherbert is most well-known. In it he touches on an array of legal issues ranging from the skill and care one is owed by an expert, the cause of action for a victim of fraud, and the scope of liability for trespasses on land.<ref>Douthwaite, ''Gray’s Inn.''</ref> His analysis was crucial to the development of English common law,<ref>''Ibid."</ref> and consequently the foundation of the United States’ legal system. | ||
Revision as of 14:45, 20 March 2014
by Anthony Fitzherbert
| The New Natura Brevium | |
 Title page from The New Natura Brevium, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary. | |
| Author | Sir Anthony Fitzherbert |
| Published | London (In the Savoy): Printed for Henry Lintot and sold by J. Shuckburgh |
| Date | 1755 |
| Edition | Eighth, carefully revised |
| Language | English |
| Pages | [12], 606, [42] |
| Desc. | 4to (27 cm.) |
The New Natura Brevium was a highly influential treatise on English law first issued in French in 1534 and written by Sir Anthony Fitzherbert (1470-1538), an English judge, scholar, and "one of the best-known English legal writers of the sixteenth century."[1] Frequently cited in judgments for more than two hundred years following its publication,[2] The New Natura Brevium is an important text on 16th century common law.
Fitzherbert had already published Magnum Abbreviamentum, an abridgment of the year books,[3] "a massive digest of 13,845 cases ... arranged under alphabetical headings."[4] In 1522, he was made a judge of common pleas and was knighted, although he continued to write and soon after published three works: one on law, one on agriculture, and one of law and agriculture combined.[5]
It is for The New Natura Brevium that Fitzherbert is most well-known. In it he touches on an array of legal issues ranging from the skill and care one is owed by an expert, the cause of action for a victim of fraud, and the scope of liability for trespasses on land.[6] His analysis was crucial to the development of English common law,[7] and consequently the foundation of the United States’ legal system.
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
Both Dean's Memo[8] and the Brown Bibliography[9] suggest Wythe owned the 8th edition (1755) of this title based on notes in John Marshall's commonplace book.[10] The Wolf Law Library followed their suggestions and purchased the 8th edition.
Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy
Rebound in brown buckram; pencil annotations on flyleaf.
View this book in William & Mary's online catalog.
References
- ↑ J. H. Baker, "Fitzherbert, Sir Anthony (c.1470–1538)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 18 Sept 2013.
- ↑ William Douthwaite, Gray’s Inn (London: Reeves and Turner, 1886), 46.
- ↑ Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. "Fitzherbert, Sir Anthony."
- ↑ Baker, "Fitzherbert, Sir Anthony."
- ↑ Ibid."
- ↑ Douthwaite, Gray’s Inn.
- ↑ Ibid."
- ↑ Memorandum from Barbara C. Dean, Colonial Williamsburg Found., to Mrs. Stiverson, Colonial Williamsburg Found. (June 16, 1975), 11 (on file at Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary).
- ↑ 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
- ↑ The Papers of John Marshall, eds. Herbert A. Johnson, Charles T. Cullen, and Nancy G. Harris (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, in association with the Institute of Early American History and Culture, 1974), 1:46.
