Medieval UK & Irish Law: IALS Library Guides

Guide last updated by Balqees Khan, September 2025.

This guide aims to give a brief introduction to the Library's holdings on Medieval Law in the UK and Ireland. Please consult Library Search for complete information on current titles and locations. If you require further assistance please contact us.

Monday-Friday 9:00-17:00
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Email ials@sas.ac.uk

This Subject Guide only lists a selection of Library resources we have at IALS. To find additional resources you will need to use Library Search, which covers the complete holdings of the Library. It is possible to search for books, journals and series of law reports by author, title or keyword.

IALS Library is mainly open access and readers are able to browse the shelves in the main collection. There are two main exceptions to this:

• Older items (marked RES or Depository on the catalogue record) are kept in the closed basement.
• Key texts for LLM students are often kept in the Short Loan collection.

Please request these at the Library Enquiry Desk on the 2nd floor.

Please see our Finding books and e-books guide for more information on understanding a library catalogue record. For further guidance on the location of materials please refer to our Resources & Collections page.

The Library classifies textbooks either by jurisdiction (GO13, GA2 etc.) or according to subject area, examples of which include Comparative Law (SB), Public International Law (SG) and Private International Law/ Conflict of Laws (SH). All classmark sections have a FOL section for oversize volumes, which is located on the same floor of the Library.

When using Library Search for books, please note that only the current edition is held on the open shelves or in the Short Loan collection. IALS has a rich collection of previous editions held in the closed basement and these will display a Depository number on the catalogue. Please request previous editions from the Enquiry Desk on the 2nd floor.

The following lists represent a selection of books on medieval law. This guide focuses primarily on the period roughly from the Norman conquest in 1066 to the end of the 15th century, when the Early Modern period began. Its scope includes England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Please check Library Search records for further information and locations.

From the arrival of the Anglo-Norman kings to the dawn of the Tudor dynasty, great changes took place in the law and governance of the United Kingdom and Ireland. During this period the individual power of the king gradually devolved to other institutions, changing the landscape of the law and how it was implemented. These are some general introductions to law across the period and its development over time:

Holdsworth, W., et al.  A History of English Law [vols 1-3].  1991-2009 Sweet & Maxwell

Hudson, J.  The Oxford history of the laws of England. Volume II, 871-1216.  1st ed. 2012 OUP

Lyon, B.  A Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England.  2nd ed. 1980 Norton

Maitland, F., et al.  The history of English law before the time of Edward I. Vol. 1.  2nd ed. 1968 CUP

Maitland, F., & Pollock, F.  The history of English law before the time of Edward I. Vol. 2.  2nd ed. 1968 CUP

Below are some works pertaining to the different countries of the British Isles. They have been grouped by their relevance to those countries, even though some content may overlap. For example, Legislation of Edward I is grouped under England because that is where Edward I primarily exercised his rule, even if some legislation may relate to other parts of the UK:

ENGLAND

Holt, J.  Magna Carta.  3rd ed. 2015 CUP

Hudson, J.  Land, law, and lordship in Anglo-Norman England.  1st ed. 1994 Clarendon

Palmer, R.  English law in the age of the Black Death, 1348-1381: a transformation of governance and law.  1st ed. 1993 University of North Carolina Press

Palmer, R.  The county courts of medieval England, 1150-1350.  1st ed. 1982 Princeton University Press

Plucknett, T.  Edward I and criminal law.  1st ed. 1960 CUP

Plucknett, T.  Legislation of Edward I.  1st ed. 1949 Clarendon

Powell, E.  Kingship, law, and society: criminal justice in the reign of Henry V.  1st ed. 1989 Clarendon

Razi, Z., & Smith, R.  Medieval society and the manor court.  1st ed. 1996 Clarendon

Turner, R.  The king and his courts: the role of John and Henry III in the administration of justice, 1199-1240.  1st ed. 1968 Cornell University Press

SCOTLAND

Gilbert, J.  Hunting and hunting reserves in medieval Scotland.  1st ed. 1979 J. Donald

MacQueen, H.  Common law and feudal society in medieval Scotland.  1st ed. 1993 Edinburgh University Press

Simpson, A., & Wilson, A.  Scottish legal history. Volume 1, 1000-1707.  1st ed. 2017 Edinburgh University Press

Walker, D.  A legal history of Scotland. Vol.2, The later Middle Ages.  1st ed. 1990 Green

WALES

Jenkins, D., et al.  Lawyers and laymen.  1st ed. 1986 University of Wales Press

Roberts, S.  The Welsh legal triads.  1st ed. 2015 Selden Society

Watkin, T.  The legal history of Wales.  2nd ed. 2012 University of Wales Press

IRELAND

Ball, F.  The judges in Ireland, 1221-1921.  2nd ed. 1993 Roundhall Press

Hand, G.  English law in Ireland, 1290-1324.  1st ed. 1967 CUP

Hart, A.  A history of the king's serjeants at law in Ireland: honour rather than advantage?  1st ed. 2000 Four Courts Press

Greer, D., & Dawson, S (eds).  Mysteries and solutions in Irish legal history: Irish Legal History Society discourses and other papers, 1996-1999.  1st ed. 2001 Four Courts Press

Osborough, W.  Studies in Irish legal history.  1st ed. 1999 Four Courts Press

Richardson, H., & Sayles, G.  The Irish Parliament in the Middle Ages.  1st ed. 1952 University of Pennsylvania Press

Primary sources are some of the best material we have for looking at the actions and thoughts of those from the past. Material such as the Statutes at Large or law texts from medieval Wales are obvious inclusions, but also included here are charter compilations and court documents. These may not be considered laws in the same way that we think of laws nowadays, but charters give us a glimpse of the origins of the law as the individual power of the king; along with the decisions from medieval courts, these documents show us the decisions and processes out of which the common law was eventually formed. They have been divided by country again to give them rough jurisdictional groupings. This is material that has been translated or summarised in English for ease of access for readers, but is not exhaustive of our primary source material:

ENGLAND

Bates, D (ed).  Regesta regum Anglo-Normannorum: the Acta of William I, 1066-1087.  1st ed. 1998 OUP

Bigelow, M (ed).  Placita Anglo-Normannica: law cases from William I to Richard I preserved in historical records [1066-1195].  2nd ed. 1881 S. Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington

Douglas, D., & Greenaway, G (eds).  English historical documents. [Vol. 2], 1042-1189.  2nd ed. 1981 Eyre & Spottiswoode

Douglas, D., & Rothwell, H (eds).  English historical documents. [Vol.3], 1189-1327.  1st ed. 1975 Eyre & Spottiswoode

Downer, L (ed).  Leges Henrici primi.  1st ed. 1972 Clarendon Press

Myers, A (ed).  English historical documents. [Vol. 4], 1327-1485.  1st ed. 1969 Eyre & Spottiswoode

Thomas, A (ed).  Calendar of early Mayor's Court rolls, 1298-1412.  1st ed. 1924-32 CUP

Tomlins, T., & Raithby, J.  The statutes at large, of England and of Great Britain: from Magna Carta to the union of the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland.  1st ed. 1811 G. Eyre & A. Strahan
 

The Selden Society have published titles for various periods at our classmark GA2.J.30 which include, but are not limited to: select pleas, chancery cases, exchequer cases, forest pleas, borough customs, year books, justices rolls, law suits.

SCOTLAND

Barrow, G (ed).  The acts of Malcolm IV, King of Scots, 1153-1165: together with the Scottish Royal acts prior to 1153 not included in Sir Archibald Lawrie's 'Early Scottish charters'.  1st ed. 1960 Edinburgh University Press

Barrow, G., & Scott, W (eds).  The acts of William I, King of Scots, 1165-1214.  1st ed. 1971 Edinburgh University Press

Duncan, A (ed).  The acts of Robert I, King of Scots, 1306-1329.  1st ed. 1988 Edinburgh University Press

Taylor, A (ed).  The laws of medieval Scotland: legal compilations from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.  1st ed. 2019 The Stair Society

Webster, B (ed).  The acts of David II, King of Scots, 1329-1371.  1st ed. 1982 Edinburgh University Press

• There are other volumes at this classmark GA4.J.15 that may be of interest for medieval Scottish law

WALES

Insley, C., & Pryce, H (eds).  The acts of Welsh rulers 1120-1283.  2nd ed. 2010 University of Wales Press

Jenkins, D (ed).  The Law of Hywel Dda: law texts of medieval Wales.  1st ed. 1986 Gomer Press

Roberts, S.  The legal triads of medieval Wales.  1st ed. 2007 University of Wales Press

IRELAND

Butler, J.  The Statutes at large, passed in the parliaments held in Ireland: 1310-1786.  1st ed. 1786 Grierson

Below is a small selection of material that details the changes and origins of certain areas of the law that began, or developed, during the Middle Ages:

Biancalana, J.  The fee tail and the common recovery in medieval England, 1176-1502.  1st ed. 2001 CUP

Caenagem, R.  The birth of the English common law.  2nd ed. 1988 CUP

Cohen, H.  A history of the English Bar and attornatus to 1450.  1st ed. 1929 Sweet & Maxwell

Lund, T.  The creation of the common law: the medieval "year books" deciphered.  1st ed. 2015 Talbot Publishing

Pugh, R.  Imprisonment in medieval England.  1st ed. 1970 CUP

Richardson, H., & Sayles, G.  The English Parliament in the Middle Ages.  1st ed. 1981 Hambledon

Roebuck, D.  Early English arbitration.  1st ed. 2008 Holo Books, The Arbitration Press

Sanborn, F.  Origins of the early English maritime and commercial law.  2nd ed. 1989 Professional Books Ltd

Seabourne, G.  Women in the medieval common law c.1200-1500.  1st ed. 2021 Routledge

IALS has a great selection of e-resources through our online catalogue that you can access either on site or remotely. Simply search by Subject using the advanced search function on Library Search to see if we have any e-resources on that topic. Below is a selection of titles that may be of interest:

Bellamy, J.  The law of treason in England in the later middle ages.  1st ed. 1970 CUP

Brand, P.  Kings, barons and justices: the making and enforcement of legislation in thirteenth-century England.  1st ed. 2003 CUP

Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry III:  [vol 1]  -  [vol 2]  -  [vol 3]  -  [vol 4]  -  [vol 5]  -  [vol 6]

Calendar of Patent Rolls, Edward I:  [vol 1]  -  [vol 2]  -  [vol 3]  -  [vol 4]

Calendar of Patent Rolls, Edward II:  [vol 1]  -  [vol 2]  -  [vol 3]  -  [vol 4]  -  [vol 5]

Dyson, M., & Ibbetson, D (eds).  Law and legal process: substantive law and procedure in English legal history.  1st ed. 2013 CUP

Fleming, R.  Domesday book and the law: society and legal custom in early medieval England.  1st ed. 1998 CUP

Kaye, J.  Medieval English conveyances.  1st ed. 2009 CUP

McVitty, E.  Treason and masculinity in medieval England: gender, law and political culture.  1st ed. 2020 Boydell Press

Ormrod, W.  Women and Parliament in Later Medieval England.  1st ed. 2020 Springer

Putnam, B.  The place in legal history of Sir William Shareshul l: chief justice of the king's bench 1350-1361.  1st ed. 2013 CUP

Roberts, S.  The growth of law in medieval Wales, c.1100-c.1500.  1st ed. 2022 Boydell Press

Rose, J.  Maintenance in medieval England.  1st ed. 2017 CUP

Turner, R.  The English judiciary in the age of Glanvill and Bracton, c. 1176-1239.  1st ed. 1985 CUP

These lists are by no means exhaustive. IALS has many more physical and online resources relating to medieval law. This guide has not touched on the history of law from other medieval societies; we have more from Continental Europe and beyond, as well as a whole range of material on medieval canon law. Hopefully this guide is a useful starting point for your studies on medieval law, but remember to browse Library Search for further resources. Good luck and don't forget to ask at the Enquiry Desk on the 2nd floor for any assistance with finding material.