【T.F.T Plucknett】the relations between roman law a

TheRelationsbetweenRomanLawandEnglishCommonLawdowntotheSixteenthCentury:AGeneralSurveyAuthor(s):T.F.T.PlucknettSource:TheUniversityofTorontoLawJournal,Vol.3,No.1(1939),pp.24-50Publishedby:UniversityofTorontoPressStableURL::28/11/201008:25YouruseoftheJSTORarchiveindicatesyouracceptanceofJSTOR'sTermsandConditionsofUse,availableat://=utp.EachcopyofanypartofaJSTORtransmissionmustcontainthesamecopyrightnoticethatappearsonthescreenorprintedpageofsuchtransmission.JSTORisanot-for-profitservicethathelpsscholars,researchers,andstudentsdiscover,use,andbuilduponawiderangeofcontentinatrusteddigitalarchive.Weuseinformationtechnologyandtoolstoincreaseproductivityandfacilitatenewformsofscholarship.FormoreinformationaboutJSTOR,[e-mail]iscollaboratingwithJSTORtodigitize,preserveandextendaccesstoTheUniversityofTorontoLawJournal.(1647)andrecentlyreprintedandtrans-latedwithcommentsbyDavidOgg(Cambridge,1925).Althoughvaluableandpenetratinginparts,theDissertatioisnotSeldenathisbest.2GeorgeSpence,EquitableJurisdictionoftheCourtofChancery(1846)andOriginsoftheLawsofModernEurope(1826)areablestudies,consider-ingtheirdate,magnifyingRomaninfluence;alonglineofadmiraltywritersonthesubjectextendsfromArthurDuck,DeUsuetAuthoritateJurisCivilis(1653,translated1724)downtoT.E.Scrutton,InfluenceoftheRomanLawontheLawofEngland(1885)andthewritingsofW.Seniormentionedbelow.TothenameofMaineamongthecomparativejuristsmaybeaddedBowyer,ReadingbeforetheMiddleTemple(1850).3ForagreatandlearnedmasterwhoheldthatRomanlawhadlittleinfluenceonoursystem,andisoflittleuseinstudyingthecommonlaw,seeHolmes,CollectedLegalPapers,atpp.155-7.24ROMANLAWANDENGLISHCOMMONLAWadmiralty,andlaterofthecommon-lawcourts,specialbodiesoflawappliedinadhocinstitutionssuchasinsuranceandbankruptcy,andtopicswhichformerlybelongedtotheecclesiasticalcourts,suchasmarriage,divorce,andportionsofthelawofwills.Thefieldwhichawaitsourconsiderationis,therefore,thecommonlawitselfinitsmedievalandpre-reformationform.Itssubstantivecontentispubliclaw,portionsofthelawofland,personalproperty,contract,tort,andcrimewiththeprocedureswhichgovernedthem,untilthemomentwhentheseportionsofthelawceasedtobemedievalandweredrawn.intothemainstreamofEuropeanlegalhistory.Thefield,inspiteoftheselimitations,isvast;evenifweantici-patetheconclusionandadmitatoncethatthesumtotalofRomaninfluencehasbeensmall,thereyetremainmanyquestionsofgreatdifficultywhichstillawaitdefinitesolutions.Someofthemareintimatelyconnectedwithparticularcrisesorindividualauthors,butsoonerorlatertheirconsidera-tionwillbringustotheonegeneralproblemunderlyingthemall-whichistodiscoverthosefactorsinEnglishhistory,andinthespiritofthecommonlawitself,whichresultedinoursystembeingsolittleromanizedincomparisonwithmostothers.Ourmedievallawwasthatbodyoflawwhichwasadministeredbytheking'scourtsintheking'sname.Itwascentralizedinthecourtofcommonpleas,andtoalessextentinking'sbenchandparliament.Itisaproductofthetwelfth