From Law Book to Legal Book: The Origin of a Species

This article responds to the question posed in the title of the 18 June 2020 workshop of the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History: »What is a Legal Book? Crossing Perspectives between Legal History and Book History«. Bridging the gap between legal history and book history requires a broa...

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Main Author: Michael Widener
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory 2021-11-01
Series:Rechtsgeschichte - Legal History
Subjects:
Online Access:https://proceedings.hpsg.xyz/index.php/rg/article/view/198
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author Michael Widener
author_facet Michael Widener
author_sort Michael Widener
collection DOAJ
description This article responds to the question posed in the title of the 18 June 2020 workshop of the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History: »What is a Legal Book? Crossing Perspectives between Legal History and Book History«. Bridging the gap between legal history and book history requires a broader conception of legal literature, one that the term »legal book« captures more accurately than the narrower »law book«. The field of legal history has begun to take greater interest in legal books as social and cultural phenomena, as objects of commerce and as artifacts. The article develops a definition of »legal book« using illustrations of law books that are taken from the books themselves, including allegorical images, author portraits, and depictions of lawyers at work. These images highlight the book’s function in law as symbol, text, and artifact. The article concludes by pointing to opportunities for collecting, research, and teaching that the broader definition of »legal book« presents for curators and the historians they serve.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1619-4993
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language deu
publishDate 2021-11-01
publisher Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory
record_format Article
series Rechtsgeschichte - Legal History
spelling doaj-art-04507ccf9df349c6ba1aa52e04065b112025-02-11T06:07:53ZdeuMax Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal TheoryRechtsgeschichte - Legal History1619-49932195-96172021-11-0129From Law Book to Legal Book: The Origin of a SpeciesMichael Widener0Bibliopathos Libreria Antiquaria (Verona), Lillian Goldman Law Library, Yale Law School This article responds to the question posed in the title of the 18 June 2020 workshop of the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History: »What is a Legal Book? Crossing Perspectives between Legal History and Book History«. Bridging the gap between legal history and book history requires a broader conception of legal literature, one that the term »legal book« captures more accurately than the narrower »law book«. The field of legal history has begun to take greater interest in legal books as social and cultural phenomena, as objects of commerce and as artifacts. The article develops a definition of »legal book« using illustrations of law books that are taken from the books themselves, including allegorical images, author portraits, and depictions of lawyers at work. These images highlight the book’s function in law as symbol, text, and artifact. The article concludes by pointing to opportunities for collecting, research, and teaching that the broader definition of »legal book« presents for curators and the historians they serve. https://proceedings.hpsg.xyz/index.php/rg/article/view/198legal historybook historylegal booksillustrations of law booksYale Law Library
spellingShingle Michael Widener
From Law Book to Legal Book: The Origin of a Species
Rechtsgeschichte - Legal History
legal history
book history
legal books
illustrations of law books
Yale Law Library
title From Law Book to Legal Book: The Origin of a Species
title_full From Law Book to Legal Book: The Origin of a Species
title_fullStr From Law Book to Legal Book: The Origin of a Species
title_full_unstemmed From Law Book to Legal Book: The Origin of a Species
title_short From Law Book to Legal Book: The Origin of a Species
title_sort from law book to legal book the origin of a species
topic legal history
book history
legal books
illustrations of law books
Yale Law Library
url https://proceedings.hpsg.xyz/index.php/rg/article/view/198
work_keys_str_mv AT michaelwidener fromlawbooktolegalbooktheoriginofaspecies