Eirenarcha: Or of the Office of the Justices of Peace in Two Bookes, Gathered 1579 and Now Revised and Firste Published in the 24. Yeare of the Peaceable Reigne

Lambard, William. Eirenarcha: Or, of the Office of the Justices of Peace in Two Bookes, Gathered 1579 and Now Revised and Firste Published in the 24. Yeare of the Peaceable Reigne of our Gratious Queene Elizabeth. London: Newbery, 1581.[viii], 511, [xv] pp. Reprint available 2003 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. LCCN 2002025944. ISBN 1-58477-246-8. Cloth. $95. First published in 1581, this treatise is esteemed for its comprehensive and systematic account of the organization of local government under the justices of the peace at the end of the sixteenth century. It was the standard authority for several decades and often reprinted. Like many books of its kind, Eirenarcha offers a unique perspective on the society that produced it. This is evident in the descriptions of detailed indictments for such offenses as killing a man through witchcraft, raping a child or maid (the age of distinction was ten), hearing a Catholic Mass, practicing usary and operating a bowling alley. Lambard [1536-1601], a barrister and legal historian, was the keeper of records at the Rolls Chapel and the Tower of London.