WeRead Powered by ReaderPub
Ancient law cover

Ancient law

By Sir Henry Sumner Maine
Open in WeRead

Explore more books like this:

History - AncientLaw & Criminology

About This Book

The work traces the historical development of legal and social institutions, arguing that custom and group relationships precede conscious legislation and individual contracts. It identifies the family, under patriarchal authority, as the primary unit of early legal order and explains features like agnation, adoption, and the status of dependents as products of that structure. Through Roman examples and comparative evidence from other traditions, it examines the gradual shift from collective status to individual contract, and applies this framework to wills, property, succession, and village-community arrangements.

About the Author

Maine, Sir Henry Sumner portrait

Sir Henry Sumner Maine

Sir Henry Sumner Maine was a British jurist and legal historian, best known for his influential work "Ancient Law," published in 1861. In this seminal text, Maine explores the evolution of legal systems from ancient societies to modern times, emphasizing the relationship between law and social development. His insights into the nature of legal institutions and their historical contexts have significantly contributed to the fields of anthropology and legal theory. Maine's scholarship laid the groundwork for future studies in comparative law and the sociology of law, making him a notable figure in the intellectual landscape of the 19th century.

You May Also Like

6 picks
左傳 cover 左傳 by Ming Zuoqiu Romulus / Makers of History cover Romulus / Makers of History by Jacob Abbott Psyche: The Cult of Souls and Belief in Immortality among the Greeks cover Psyche: The Cult of Souls and Belief in Immortality among the Greeks by Erwin Rohde The Copernicus of Antiquity (Aristarchus of Samos) cover The Copernicus of Antiquity (Aristarchus of Samos) by Sir Thomas Little Heath The South American Republics, Part 2 of 2 cover The South American Republics, Part 2 of 2 by Thomas Cleland Dawson Patriarchal Palestine cover Patriarchal Palestine by A. H. Sayce