Suchergebnisse

Introduction -- Law in the early Christian church -- Canon Law in the early Middle Ages -- Canon Law amid eleventh-century reform efforts -- Gratian and the decretists -- Decretals and the decretalists -- Canon Law in intellectual spaces -- Courts and procedure -- Canon Law in the lives of people -- The impact of Canon Law on Western societies -- Conclusion.

'Law in Common' draws on a large body of unpublished archival material from local archives and libraries across the country, to show how ordinary people in the later Middle Ages - such as peasants, craftsmen, and townspeople - used law in their everyday lives, developing our understanding of the operation of late-medieval society and politics.

In the popular imagination, the Middle Ages are often associated with lawlessness. However, historians have long recognized that medieval culture was characterized by an enormous respect for law and legal procedure. This book makes the case that one cannot understand the era's cultural trends without considering the profound development of law.