Medieval Justice: Cases and Laws in France, England and Germany, 500-1500

by Hunt Janin

A primer on medieval justice, this book focuses on France, Germany and England and covers the thousand years between the transformation of the Roman world in Western Europe, which took place around the 4th and 5th centuries, and the European Renaissance of the 14th and 15th centuries. It highlights key elements in the intricate, overlapping legal systems of the Middle Ages and describes a wide range of contemporary laws and cases. A discussion of the modern legacies of medieval law is included, as are a brief overview of the Inquisition, the 27 articles of Joan of Arc and useful commentary on many other topics. Illustrations range from the earliest known depictions of English courts and illuminations of torture to pictures of important sites, events, and instruments of punishment in medieval law.

Genres: History, Medieval History, Legal

Hardcover

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[Jacabaeus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plenty of interesting information that is not (easily) available elsewhere in English. Needs significant editing (spelling errors, words smushed together, dates or figures missing and left with "__" as an obvious placeholder.

[Pierre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing in-depth book that details the complex legal world of the Middle Ages. The book debunks the myth that the "Dark Ages" and the "Middle Ages" were lawless and barbaric; in fact, there were in place complex and rich legal traditions hearkening back to Roman Civil Law and Germanic Tribal law, that only rarely involved trials by combat or dunking witches. This is an easily accessible scholarly work about the development of Western Law that every lawyer, law student, and history buff should read.