Law and Society in Later Medieval England and Ireland

Law mattered in later medieval England and Ireland. From the charter to the will to the court roll, the majority of the documents which have survived from later medieval England and Ireland, and medieval Europe in general, are legal in nature. Yet despite the fact that law played a prominent role in medieval society, legal history has long been a marginal subject within medieval studies both in Britain and North America. This volume, a collection of essays in honour of Paul Brand, is intended to help fill this gap. The essays provide new insights into how the law developed and functioned within the legal profession and courtroom, as well as how it pervaded the society at large.