Abstract
On balance these fourteenth-century cases are a remarkable victory for women's rights. The lawyers of the era ran a system that glorified reason and free inquiry. Their respect for women confirms their devotion to these principles. But now that the catalogue of cases is done, another purpose of this Article may be mentioned. The Selden Society Year Books open with a quotation: Serjeant Maynard "had such a relish of the old year-books that he carried one in his "coach to divert him in travel, and said he chose it before any comedy." No doubt the great man enjoyed every nuance of legal doctrine, but could such subtlety alone have been a nostrum against motion sickness on a rutted carriage track? Perhaps Serjeant Maynard found, as did Maitland, that "the play of reasoning among the counsel at the bar is much more interesting than any series of decided points could be." This Article has talked about esplees, ravishment, and snappers, but equally its subject has been Toudeby, Scrope, and the rest. And above all, the great Chief Justice. Age does not stale their infinite variety.
Recommended Citation
Lund, Thomas
(1997)
"Women in the Early Common Law,"
Utah Law Review: Vol. 1997:
No.
1, Article 1.
Available at:
https://dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol1997/iss1/1