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The composition and distribution of the legal profession, and the use of law in early modern Britain and Ireland, c.1500-c.1850

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Date
2018
Author
Houston, Robert
Keywords
Law
Legal history
Legal cultures
Britain
Ireland
Scotland
Lawyers
KD England and Wales
KDC Scotland
T-NDAS
Metadata
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Abstract
At various dates between the early sixteenth century and the early nineteenth century the ratio of lawyers per head of population in England and Wales was more than twice that obtaining in Scotland and Ireland. By comparing carefully and systematically the different size and composition of the legal profession in the component parts of the British Isles, the article shows how significantly different was the nature and significance of law, and the distinctive trajectories of legal change. The second half of the article offers a range of possible explanations for why the numbers and types of lawyers or ‘men of law’ varied so much, suggesting that national legal cultures were enduringly and profoundly different. The peoples of Ireland and Scotland related to law in ways quite distinct from the close relationship of English society to its lawyers and law.
Citation
Houston , R 2018 , ' The composition and distribution of the legal profession, and the use of law in early modern Britain and Ireland, c.1500-c.1850 ' , Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis , vol. 86 , no. 1-2 , pp. 123-156 . https://doi.org/10.1163/15718190-08612P07
Publication
Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1163/15718190-08612P07
ISSN
0040-7585
Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2018, Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1163/15718190-08612P07
Collections
  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/20017

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