De Natura Legis Naturae... Printed from a Manuscript in the Lambeth...
The Rare True First Edition of Fortescue's 15th-Century Treatise: Lord Clermont's Own Copy (1864) Fortescue, Sir John, (1394?-1476). De Natura Legis Naturae... Printed from a Manuscript in the Lambeth Library for Lord Clermont. [London: s.n.], 1864. [ii], 66, 90 pp. Internal text contains De Contentis (p. [1]), Pars Prima (p. 3-66), and Pars Secunda (p. [1]-90). Octavo (10-1/4" x 6-1/2"; 26 x 16.5 cm). Contemporary three-quarter blue morocco over gray-blue buckram with gilt stamped spine. Deckle edges. Worn and soiled with rubbing to extremities. Foxing to endleaves and blanks. Bookplate of Thomas Fortescue, Lord Clermont to front pastedown. A very good copy. $850. * First edition of this seminal fifteenth-century legal and political treatise, printed for private distribution. Written by Sir John Fortescue, Chief Justice of the King's Bench (1442-1461), during his exile in Scotland during the Wars of the Roses. This text remained in manuscript form for four centuries until this 1864 edition was pulled from the Lambeth Library by his descendant, Thomas Fortescue, Lord Clermont (1815-1887). Fortescue argues that natural law is the ultimate foundation of governance. He uses this concept to support the Lancastrian claim to the throne. His work heavily shaped English constitutional law by placing royal power under divine and legal principles rather than absolute rule. The text provides a philosophical and legal defense of the Lancastrian claim to the English throne against the Yorkist faction. It famously argues that by both natural and divine law, succession cannot pass through a female line. The work is a cornerstone of English constitutional history. It limits absolute royal power by arguing that a king's authority is bound by natural law, legal precedent, and coronation oaths. Printed for private distribution by Thomas Fortescue, Lord Clermont (1815-1887), an Irish politician and family historian. Clermont transcribed the text directly from the original manuscript housed in the Lambeth Palace Library. This specific copy features Clermont's personal bookplate on the front pastedown. OCLC locates 3 copies (British Library, Princeton, University of Manchester). Library Hub adds 3 more (Lambeth Palace, Oxford, Cambridge). Sweet & Maxwell, A Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwea.
Price: $850.00
Book number 86374