The Settlement of Disputes in Early Medieval Europe

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title The Settlement of Disputes in Early Medieval Europe
Authors and Contributors      Edited by Wendy Davies
Edited by Paul Fouracre
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:320
Dimensions(mm): Height 231,Width 152
Category/GenreWorld history - c 500 to C 1500
ISBN/Barcode 9780521428958
ClassificationsDewey:340.55
Audience
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations Worked examples or Exercises

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 23 April 1992
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

This is a collection of original essays on the settlement of disputes in the early middle ages, a subject of central importance for social and political history. Case material, from the evidence of charters, is used to reveal the realities of the settlement process in the behaviour and interactions of people - instead of the prescriptive and idealised models of law-codes and edicts. The book is not therefore a technical study of charters evidence. The geographical range across Europe is unusually wide, which allows comparison across differing societies. Frankish material is inevitably prominent, but the contributors have sought to integrate Celtic, Greek, Italian and Spanish material into the mainstream of the subject. Above all, the book aims to 'demystify' the study of early medieval law, and to present a radical reappraisal of established assumptions about law and society.

Reviews

'This is a superb contribution from which students of law, constitutional history, and state formation will benefit immensely.' Ethics ' ... presented with a variety and subtlety which no summary can capture.' The Times Higher Education Supplement 'No one in the future can now legitimately overlook the fruit of so much erudition.' English Historical Review