English Law Before Magna Carta: Felix Liebermann and Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen

Felix Liebermann’s Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen (1903-1916) remains the single most important contribution to the study of early English law. This volume marks the Gesetze’s centenary by bringing together original essays by an international group of leading scholars specializing in medieval legal culture. The essays address not only Liebermann’s life and legacy, but also major issues in the study of early law, including the relationship between Old English legal and penitential texts, the provenance of early English legal manuscripts, the composition and dating of pre-Magna Carta legislation, and the nature of Anglo-Saxon and Norman legal practice and procedure. This collection provides an essential assessment of the current state of early legal studies as well as a roadmap for future work. Contributors are Hideyuki Arimitsu, Rebecca Brackmann, Daniela Fruscione, R.D. Fulk, Thomas Gobbitt, Janelle Greenberg, John Hudson, Stefan Jurasinski, Nicholas Karn, T.B. Lambert, Andrew Rabin, Mary P. Richards, Richard Sharpe, and Jurg Rainer Schwyter.