Institute of Legal and Constitutional Research hosted a conference entitled “Living with the Law: Society and Legal Disputes, c. 1200-1700.”
The conference, held from June 27-29, was organised by Dr Will Eves and PhD student Sarah White, and papers were given by research students, early career researchers, and established and senior scholars.
The two keynote lectures were given by Professor Paul Brand (“The Law and Social Mobility in Thirteenth-Century England: The Case of the Weyland Family”) and Professor Sir John Baker (“1616: ‘A Year Consecrate to Justice’”).
Panels covered “The Manipulation of Legal Process in High Medieval Europe” (Felicity Hill, Kenneth Duggan, and Cory Hitt, chaired by William Ian Miller), “Legal Interpretation and Theory” (Danica Summerlin, Joanna McCunn, and Lorenzo Moniscalco, chaired by Emanuele Conte), “Edinburgh Law School Session” (Hector MacQueen and John W. Cairns, chaired by Colin Kidd), “Law and Legal Practice in Early Modern Europe” (Kelsey Jackson-Williams, Julia Kelso, and Saskia Limbach, chaired by Magnus Ryan), “Lordship, Loyalty and the Law” (Matt McHaffie and Josh Hey, chaired by George Garnett).
On the final day of the conference, John Hudson, William Ian Miller, and Magnus Ryan led a roundtable discussion, with a closing summary by Caroline Humfress.
Papers covered the medieval and early modern periods, and concerned both the common law and ius commune. The mix of junior and senior researchers led to interesting discussions and established new connections between the various universities represented by the attendees.
The conference also included a chance to see the Marchmont MS of Regiam Majestatem recently acquired by St Andrews, as well a number of interesting legal-themed items from Special Collections in a thoughtful and well-curated display organised by Rachel Hart and Maia Sheridan.