Continuity, Influences and Integration in Scottish Legal History
Select Essays of David Sellar
Published on 17. July 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
408 pages
978-1-4744-8877-8 (ISBN)
Description
David Sellar was a pioneering historian of Scots law who rejected previous interpretations of the subject as a series of false starts and rejected experiments. He emphasised instead the continuity of legal development, with change a process of integration of external influences from very early times on. Sellar's approach, articulated mainly through essays published in diverse places over four decades, significantly influenced our general understanding of legal history in Scotland as well as leading to appreciation elsewhere of its comparative significance. By gathering Sellar's major essays in a single collection, this book demonstrates the scope and reach of Sellar's overall contribution. It provides an opportunity to view Sellar's work as a whole and to access his distinctive perspective on the overall trajectory of Scottish law.
Reviews / Votes
There are sixteen essays (let us call them chapters)in the book, of which three are directly concerned with Gaelic and the Highlands, and four contain passages of interest to Highland historians. Another nine are simply well worth reading by anyone, for David had an engagingly fluid, anecdotal style, and topics like cohabitation (Ch. 9), divorce (Ch. 10), murder (Ch. 11) and deathbed wishes (Ch. 12) come alive before our eyes. -- Ronald Black * West Highland Notes and Queries *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
15 black and white illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
649 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4744-8877-8 (9781474488778)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Hector MacQueen has been a member of the Edinburgh Law School since 1979. Appointed to the Chair of Private Law in 1994, he was Dean of the Law School 1999-2003, and Dean of Research and Deputy Head of the College of Humanities and Social Science in the University 2004-2008. He is currently a Scottish Law Commissioner. He is the author of many books and articles on Scots law and its historical development in comparative perspective, and of key textbooks such as The Scottish Legal System (5th edition) (2013), Unjustified Enrichment Law Basics (3rd edition) (2013), and Studying Scots Law 4th edition (2012).
Content
Introduction: David Sellar, Legal Historian,H L MacQueen
The Continuity of Scottish Legal History: An Overview
Part I: Celtic Law and Birlaw: Customary Law
Celtic Law and Scots Law: Survival and Integration
Marriage, Divorce and Concubinage in Gaelic Scotland
The Lyon and the Seannachie
Birlaw Courts and Birleymen
Part II: The Influence of English Law
English Law as a Source of Stair's Institutions
The Resilience of the Scottish Common Law
Scots Law: Mixed from the Very Beginning? A Tale of Two Receptions
Part III: The Influence of Canon Law: Marriage, Divorce and Homicide
Marriage by Cohabitation with Habit and Repute: Review and Requiem?
Marriage, Divorce and the Forbidden Degrees: Canon Law and Scots Law
Forethocht Felony, Malice Aforethought and the Classification of Homicide
Part IV: The Influence of English and Canon Law: Succession
Juridical Acts Made in Contemplation of Death
Succession
Courtesy, Battle and the Brieve of Right, 1368
Part V: The Influence of the European Jus Commune
Promise
Presumptions
The Continuity of Scottish Legal History: An Overview
Part I: Celtic Law and Birlaw: Customary Law
Celtic Law and Scots Law: Survival and Integration
Marriage, Divorce and Concubinage in Gaelic Scotland
The Lyon and the Seannachie
Birlaw Courts and Birleymen
Part II: The Influence of English Law
English Law as a Source of Stair's Institutions
The Resilience of the Scottish Common Law
Scots Law: Mixed from the Very Beginning? A Tale of Two Receptions
Part III: The Influence of Canon Law: Marriage, Divorce and Homicide
Marriage by Cohabitation with Habit and Repute: Review and Requiem?
Marriage, Divorce and the Forbidden Degrees: Canon Law and Scots Law
Forethocht Felony, Malice Aforethought and the Classification of Homicide
Part IV: The Influence of English and Canon Law: Succession
Juridical Acts Made in Contemplation of Death
Succession
Courtesy, Battle and the Brieve of Right, 1368
Part V: The Influence of the European Jus Commune
Promise
Presumptions