Great Britain, England, World, Legal History, Law, Louis A. Knafla, 1600-1699, 1700-1799, Essays 

How ungovernable were seventeeth and eighteenth-century Englishmen? Certainly the historical evidence attests to an unruly and contumacious populace: riot was widespread, such criminal activities as the counterfeiting of coin flourished, disorder pervaded even London's goals, and men at all levels of authority were often hard pressed to enforce the law. On the other hand, the ruling elite had a powerful instrument - the courts - for regulating not only crime but also for numerous aspects of social and economic life. Moreover, belief in the value of 'the rule of law' was widespread, even among law-breakers. This collection of detailed case studies investigated these paradoxes. Each essay focuses on a particular source of conflict - village regulation, the price and shipment of grain, the building of turnpike roads, the imprisonment of debtors, the circulation of counterfeit coin - to asses attitudes to 'the law' and to authority. Particular emphasis is placed on the judicial process - how the legal system actually worked.  

Contents:
Two concepts of order: justices, constables, and jurymen in seventeenth-century England / Keith Wrightson -- Grain riots and popular attitudes to the law: Maldon and the crisis of 1629 / John Walter -- 'A set ungovernable people': the Kingswood colliers in the eighteenth century / Robert W. Malcolmson -- The Wilkites and the law, 1763-74: a study of radical notions of governance / John Brewer -- 'Our traitorous money makers': the Yorkshire coiners and the law, 1760-83 / John Styles -- The King's Bench prison in the later eighteenth century: law, authority and order in a London debtor's prison / Joanna Innes.  

Includes index.
Item has been generously donated by Louis A. Knafla.
Catalogued by editor (Brewer)