Les Reports des Cases Argue and Adjudge in le Temps del'Roy: Edward I - Henrie VIII
by
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.[1] The yearbooks were early reporters written in Law French that scholars believe were first authored in the late thirteenth century.[2] Thereafter, various, often anonymous authors created the books until 1535.[3] A popular, incorrect belief, held by Bacon, Blackstone, Coke, and Plowden, was that the works were the product of several regally-appointed reporters.[4] However, there is no evidence for this assertion.[5] Moreover, scholar Percy Winfield asserts that official reporters would not commit the mistakes found in the yearbooks.[6] 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.”[7] 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.”[8] 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.[9]
Instead of being produced by an official authority, it is likely that the yearbooks were the work of numerous entrepreneurs.[10] The fact that the yearbooks vary so greatly in style and content suggests different, unofficial authors.[11] Scholar William Holdsworth contends that the yearbooks evolved from the work of students.[12] Because there was no official report on the proceedings of court, their notes became a source of knowledge for those not in attendance.[13]As the yearbook period progressed, the reporting became more standardized and the extraneous details that characterized the early reports gradually faded.[14]The case itself became the main concern.[15]
Gradually, the yearbook form began to fall out of use and in 1535, the last one was published.[16] By 1678, the books were so scarce that a full set sold for £40.[17]Bemoaning this scarcity as a “detriment to the study of law,” judges demanded that the books be republished.[18] In 1679, the books experienced a brief revival when they were reissued.[19] However, this was short-lived, as the books had ceased to be of any use to practicing lawyers. [20] Few lawyers could read the archaic language and newer books served their needs more thoroughly.[21] In addition, most of the useful information from the yearbooks could be found in the Abridgements.[22] In the 20th century, the books experienced another revival, however scholars generally limited their use to historical research.[23] They remain a useful tool for understanding the features of life in medieval England and the evolution of legal thought.[24]
Bibliographic Information
Author:
Title: Les Reports des Cases Argue and Adjudge in le Temps del'Roy: Edward I - Henrie VIII
Publication Info: London: 1678-1680.
Edition:
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy
View this book in William & Mary's online catalog.
References
- ↑ Percy H. Winfield, The Chief Sources of English Legal History (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1925),171.
- ↑ Ibid. 158-59
- ↑ Ibid. 159
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid. 161
- ↑ Ibid. 161-62
- ↑ Ibid. 160
- ↑ W. S. Holdsworth, A History of English Law, Vol. II (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1924) 535
- ↑ Ibid. 536-37
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid. 541
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Percy H. Winfield, The Chief Sources of English Legal History (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1925), 171.
- ↑ W. S. Holdsworth, A History of English Law, Vol. II (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1924) 529
- ↑ Percy H. Winfield, The Chief Sources of English Legal History (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1925), 171.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid. 171-72
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid. 171
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
