Leges Edwardi Confessoris
The title Leges Edwardi Confessoris, or Laws of Edward the Confessor, refers to a collection of laws, purporting to represent English law in the time of
Background
The issue of continuity and change in
The Leges Edwardi served the purpose of legitimizing the legacy of William the Conqueror's rule and distancing the 12th-century ruling class of England from their violent origins as conquerors. The treatise is believed to have been written sometime between 1130 and 1135, towards the end of
The laga Edwardi is not a single law code, but rather is a descriptive term meaning the laws and customs of England that were observed prior to the Norman conquest. English bishops like
Leges Edwardi
Prior to the 17th century the Leges Edwardi Confessoris had several titles variously attributing the treatise to Edward or William. It is one of the four major treatises on the laga Edwardi. The others are the
The Leges Edwardi is not directly based upon any known sources of preconquest laws, instead borrowing at times from a
The primary concerns of the text lay with the king's peace and the peace of the Holy Church, especially in the North Midlands and Yorkshire region bordering on the Danelaw. Although the emphasis is on common law, the same text shows that there were regional differences.
- [12] Pax regia multiplex est; alia data manu sua, quam Angli uocant kinges hand salde grid; [12a] alia die qua primum coronatus est, ipsa habet viii dies; in Natali Domini viii dies et octo dies Pasche et octo Pentecostes; [12b] alia per breue suum data; [12c] alia quam habent iiii chemini, id est Watlingestrete, Fosse, Hykenildstrete, Erningstrete, quorum duo in longitudinem regni, alii uero in latitudinem distenduntur.
- "[12] There are many types of the king's peace; one is given by his hand, which the English call kinges hand salde grid; [12a] another [is given] on the day on which he is first crowned — this one lasts for eight days; at Christmas eight days and eight days at Easter and eight days at Pentecost; [12b] another is given by his writ; [12c] another which the four roads have, that is Watling Street, Fosse Way, Iknield Way, and Ermine Street, of which two extend for the length of the kingdom, the others across the width."[9]
Other points of interest include references to the
The most recent editor, Bruce O'Brien, has speculated that the popularity of the treatise may have been due to its portrayal of "a Norman king interested in preserving and maintaining" the native laws of the English nobility.[10] The Leges Edwardi argues that what the work offers instead are "apparently original observations of and comments on the English law of the author's day."[11]
Influence
Aided by the Confessor's legendary reputation as a lawgiver, the compilation enjoyed considerable interest in medieval England. The text is found in a large number of manuscripts. Four recensions have been distinguished, two of which are revisions with additional material being grafted on to the core of the text.
A version of the Leges Edwardi Confessoris was known to Henry de Bracton and to the barons and jurists responsible for Magna Carta.
In 17th century, during the controversy about the ancient constitution of England, Leges Edwardi Confessoris was frequently used as support for the antiquity of the House of Commons.
Notes
- ^ O'Brien, God's Peace, pp. 8-9.
- ^ O'Brien, God's Peace, pp. 15-18.
- ^ Constable, the Law, p. 80.
- ^ O’Brien, God’s Peace, p. 3.
- ^ O'Brien, God's Peace, pp. 22-27.
- ^ O'Brien, God's Peace, pp. 28-29.
- ^ Coyne, Presentment, p. 286.
- ^ Yntema, Lex Murdrorum, p. 153.
- ^ O'Brien (ed. and tr.), God's Peace.
- ^ O'Brien, God's Peace, p. 3.
- ^ O'Brien, God's Peace, p. 29.
References
- Constable, Marianne. The Law of the Other: The Mixed Jury and Changing Conceptions of Citizenship, Law, and Knowledge. University of Chicago Press, 1994.
- Hamil, Frederick Coyne. "Presentment of Englishry and the Murder Fine." Speculum 12, no. 3 (1937): 285-98
- O'Brien, Bruce R. (ed. and tr.) God's peace and king's peace: the laws of Edward the Confessor. Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8122-3461-8
- O'Brien, Bruce R. "Forgers of Law and Their Readers: The Crafting of English Political Identities between the Norman Conquest and the Magna Carta." PS: Political Science and Politics 43, no. 3 (2010): 467–73.
- Yntema, Hessel E. "The Lex Murdrorum: An Episode in the History of English Criminal Law." Harvard Law Review 36, no. 2 (1922): 146–79.
Further reading
- Primary sources
- Liebermann, Felix (ed.). Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen. 3 vols: vol 1. Halle, 1898–1916. 627–72.
- Liebermann, Felix (tr.). Eine anglonormannische Übersetzung des 12. Jahrhunderts von Articuli Wilhelemi, Leges Eadwardi und Genealogia Normannorum. 1895.
- Lambarde, William (ed.). Archaionomia. London, 1568.
- Secondary sources
- Barlow, Frank. Edward the Confessor. London, 1970.
- Liebermann, Felix (ed.). Über die Leges Edwardi confessoris. Halle, 1896. Available from The Making of Modern Law (Gale, subscription required).
- Wormald, Patrick. The Making of Anglo-Saxon Law. King Alfred to the Norman Conquest. Vol 1. Legislation and Its Limits. Oxford, 1999. 409–11.
External links
- "Index of the texts". Early English Laws. Retrieved 14 August 2015.