Statutes & Their Interpretation In The First Half Of The Fourteenth Century (Cambridge Studies in English Legal History)

Originally published: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1922. xliv, 200 pp. An important book by a preeminent scholar of English legal history. Using evidence drawn from the Year Books from 20 Edw. I to 20 Edw. III Plucknett [1897-1965] analyzes the nature of early statutes as seen in the rules for their construction and their use in court. He shows that the early statutes were more legislative than declaratory, and were treated as such by the courts.