Law and Society in Medieval England

This course offers an in-depth study of core areas of family, property, and obligations law in later thirteenth and early fourteenth century England and their relationships - through legislative and judicial change and legal writing - to the medieval society of which they were part.

The materials studied are statutes, case reports, and treatises and instructional literature from the period, together with the modern academic literature on the topics. All the sources used are provided in translation, so that knowledge of Latin and French is not required. Prior knowledge of the history of English law is not required.