History, Great Britain, Common law, England, Law, English Common law, United Kingdom Common Law 

Fifth Edition 

"As always during its long history, English common law, upon which American law is based, has had to defend itself against the challenge of civil law's clarity and traditions. That challenge to our common law heritage remains today. To that end, Liberty Fund now makes available a clear and candid discussion of common law. Concise History of the Common Law provides a source for common-law understanding of individual rights, not in theory only, but protected through the confusing and messy evolution of courts, and their administration as they struggled to resolve real problems. Plucknett's seminal work is intended to convey a sense of historical development—not to serve merely as a work of reference. The first half of the book is a historical introduction to the study of law. Plucknett discusses the conditions in political, economic, social, and religious thought that have contributed to the genesis of law. This section is a brief but astoundingly full introduction to the study of law. The second half of the book consists of chapters introducing the reader to the history of some of the main divisions of law, such as criminal tort, property, contract, and succession. These topics are treated with careful exposition so that the book will be of interest to those just embarking on their quest in legal history while still providing enough substantial information, references, and footnotes to make it meaningful for the well-versed legal history reader. Theodore F. T. Plucknett (1897-1965) was an English legal historian. At twenty-six, he was appointed by Roscoe Pound as professor of legal history at Harvard Law School." - from Amazon 

Contents:
Book I: A general survey of legal history. pt. I. The Anglo-Saxon period. The conquest of Henry II. The great Charters. Edward I to Richard II. The fifteenth century. The Tudors. The Stuarts. The eighteenth century. The nineteenth century. -- pt. II. The communal courts. Seignorial jurisdiction. The crown and local courts. The jury. The origins of the central courts. The elaboration of the judicial system (1307-1509). The Tudors and the common law courts. The rise of the prerogative courts. Prerogative, equity and law under the Stuarts. Parliament and the Privy Council. The courts in the nineteenth century. The legal profession. The growth of the judiciary. Professional literature. -- pt. III. Some factors in legal history. The civil law of Rome. The Canon law of the Church. Custom. Legislation. The principle of precedent.

Book II: Special part. pt. I. Procedure. The forms of action. Civil procedure. Pleading. -- pt. II. Crime and tort. Criminal procedure. The felonies. Misdemeanours, trespass and tort. Liability, civil and criminal. Defamation. -- pt. III. Real property. Feudalism. Feudalism in England. Inheritance and alienability. Tenures and incidents. The rise of the Entail. The common law estates down to 1540. Uses and the Statute. The later law of real property. The mortgage. Conveyances. -- pt. IV. Contract. Origins. The fourteenth century. Assumpsit to Slade's case. Contract after Slade's case. Law merchant and admiralty. -- pt. V. Equity. The early history of equity. The formative period. The work of the Chancellors. -- pt. VI. Succession. Inheritance. Intestacy. Wills. 

Includes index.
Donated by Graham Price.
"This book is published by Liberty Fund, Inc., a foundation established to encourage study of the ideal of a free and responsible individuals."