View source for Treatise of the Principal Grounds and Maximes of the Lawes

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''A Treatise of the Principal Grounds and Maximes of the Lawes of This Nation''}}
===by William Noy===
__NOTOC__
{{BookPageInfoBox
|imagename=NoyTreatisePrincipalGroundsMaximesLawes1651TitlePage.jpg
|link=https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991005808719703196
|shorttitle=A Treatise of the Principal Grounds and Maximes of the Lawes
|author=[[:Category:William Noy|William Noy]]
|edition=Second, with additions
|publoc=[[:Category:London|London]]
|publisher=Printed by T.N. for W. Lee, D. Pakeman, R. Best, and G. Bedell 
|year=1651
|pages=159 
|desc=[[:Category:Octavos|8vo]] (15 cm.)
|shelf=F-4
}}[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Noy William Noy] (1577 &ndash; 1634) was an English barrister who was appointed by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon Sir Francis Bacon] to be an official recorder for the courts of common law. During this time, Noy joined others in an attempt to review English statutory law. In 1621 Noy became a leading figure in Parliament, and from 1631-1634 he served as attorney general.<ref>James S. Hart Jr, "[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/20384 Noy , William (1577–1634)]" in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', accessed October 9, 2013.</ref> His death in 1634 was received with mixed feelings; while many colleagues held him in high regard, others were offended by his surly and discourteous personality.<ref>Ibid.</ref> "Perhaps his greatest legacy was the learning he passed on to the subsequent generation of lawyers. Among his pupils were [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Orlando_Bridgeman,_1st_Baronet,_of_Great_Lever Sir Orlando Bridgman], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Maynard_%28MP%29 Sir John Maynard], and most notably, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Hale_%28jurist%29 Sir Matthew Hale]."<ref>Ibid.</ref>

''A Treatise of the Principal Grounds and Maximes of the Lawes of this Nation'', first published in 1641, was originally written in French and "translated by a person who was neither well acquainted with the language of the work, nor understood the subjects of which it treated. The defective translation continued to be reprinted until [W. M.] Blythewood's edition" in 1817.<ref>J. G. Marvin, ''Legal Bibliography or a Thesaurus of American, English, Irish, and Scotch Law Books'' (Philadelphia: T. & J. W. Johnson, Law Booksellers, 1847), 542-543.</ref> Noy "was a profound laywer, and his maxims and observations, notwithstanding the disadvantages under which they labored, have always been regarded as 'a collection of reputation and authority.'"<ref>Ibid, 543.</ref>

[[File:NoyTreatisePrincipalGroundsMaximesLawes1651Chart.jpg|left|thumb|600px|<center>An Analysis of the Laws of England.</center>]]
 
==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
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 fourth (1667) edition of Noy's ''Treatise of the Principle Grounds and Maximes of the Lawes'' based on quotations in the manuscript copy of [[John Marshall|John Marshall's]] law notes. [[Dean Bibliography|Dean's memo]]<ref>[[Dean Bibliography|Memorandum from Barbara C. Dean]], Colonial Williamsburg Found., to Mrs. Stiverson, Colonial Williamsburg Found. (June 16, 1975), 13 (on file at Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary).</ref> lists the 1641 edition, following a reference in Alan Smith's dissertation "Virginia Lawyers, 1680-1776: The Birth of an American Profession" which cites [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] commonplace book.<ref>Alan McKinley Smith, "Virginia Lawyers, 1680-1776: The Birth of an American Profession" (PhD diss., The Johns Hopkins University, 1967), 263.</ref> Copies of the editions recommended by Brown and Dean proved difficult to locate. Because the evidence for those specific editions is inconclusive, the Wolf Law Library purchased an available copy of the second (1651) edition.

==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
Bound in period style full calf with blind rules. Title page bears the stamp of the [https://birminghamlawsociety.co.uk/ Birmingham Law Society] library. Purchased from Meyer Boswell Books.

Images of the library's copy of this book are [https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolflawlibrary/sets/72157637877490064 available on Flickr.] View the record for this book in [https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991005808719703196 William & Mary's online catalog.]

===Full text===
<div style="overflow: hidden;">
*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/NoyTreatiseOfThePrincipalGroundsAndMaximesOfTheLawes1651.pdf ''A Treatise of the Principal Grounds and Maximes of the Lawes''] (4MB PDF)
</div>

==See also==
*[[George Wythe Room]]
*[[Wythe's Library]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:English Law]]
[[Category:George Wythe Collection at William & Mary's Wolf Law Library]]
[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]
[[Category:William Noy]]

[[Category:London]]
[[Category:Octavos]]