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Eirenarcha [bound with] The Dueties of Constables, Borsholders...

Lambard, William

A Legal Perspective on Elizabethan England Lambard(e), William [1536-1601]. Eirenarcha, Or, Of the Office of the Iustices of Peace: In Foure Bookes. First Gathered 1579. Published 1581. And Now Fourthly Revised, Corrected, And Enlarged in this Fortie and One Yeare of the Peaceable Raigne of Our Most Gracious Queene Elizabeth. London: Printed by Thomas Wight, And Bonham Norton, 1599. [ii], 606 (i.e. 614), [86] pp. [Bound with] Lambard(e), William The Dueties of Constables, Borsholders, Tythingmen, And Such Other Lowe and Lay Ministers of the Peace Whereunto be Adjoyned, The Severall Offices of Church Ministers and Churchwardens, And Overseers for the Poore, Surveighours of the Highwaies, And Distributors of the Provision Against Noysome Fowle and Vermine. London: Printed by Thomas Wight, And Bonham Norton, 1599. 80 pp. Octavo (6" x 4-1/2"). Contemporary vellum with yapp edges. Moderate rubbing to extremities, pastedowns loose. Title of Eirenarcha printed within woodcut typographical border. Light toning to interior, slightly heavier in places, brief early annotations to a few leaves, "5D" in later hand to verso of front cover. An appealing copy. $2,500. * The last sixteenth-century editions (and the last to appear in Lambard's lifetime). Lambard, or Lambarde, a barrister and legal historian, was the keeper of records at the Rolls Chapel and the Tower of London. First published in 1581, Eirenarcha is esteemed for its comprehensive and systematic account of the organization of local government under the justices of the peace at the end of the sixteenth century. It was the standard authority for many years and often reprinted. Like many books of its kind, Eirenarcha offers fascinating insights into the society that produced it. This is evident in the detailed indictments for such offenses as murder via witchcraft, raping a child or maid (the age of distinction was ten), hearing a Catholic Mass, practicing usury and operating a bowling alley. First published in 1582, Dueties of Constables is a companion work. English Short-Title Catalogue S102273, S4730. Beale, Bibliography of English Law Books T393, T386.

Price: $2,500.00

Book number 74177