Les Ans ou Reports del Raigne du Roye Edward le Quart, Novelment..

1599. 1599 Printing of the Year Book Covering Regnal Years 1-22 of Edward IV [Year Book]. Edward IV. Les Ans ou Reports del Raigne du Roye Edward le Quart, Novelment Revieu et Corrigee en Divers Lieux. Ouesque un Table Perfect des Choses Notables Contenus en Ycel. Auxy vous Aves in Cest Impression las Cases icy Referres al Abridgement de Brooke, & As Auters Lieurs del Common Ley. London: In Aedibus Thomae Wight & Bonhami Norton, 1599. [i], 10, 29, 28, 44, 8, 12, 32, 25, 53, 19, 11, 21, 10, 8, 33, 12, 8,30, 10, 19, 84, 51, [40] ff. Folio (11-1/2" x 8"). Contemporary calf, rebacked retaining existing spine with raised bands and blind fillets, blind rules and large central arabesques to boards. "E4" in early hand to fore-edge of text block. Minor nicks, scratches and a few spots to boards, moderate rubbing to extremities, corners bumped and worn, pastedowns loose. Moderate toning to interior, light soiling, minor stains and early underlining and brief annotations to some leaves, including endleaves, minor worming to margins from preliminaries through Fol. 5, moderate edgewear and offsetting to preliminaries and rear endleaves, early owner signature (P. Bowes) to head of title page. A handsome copy. $1,750. * Covers regnal years 1 to 22 of Edward IV. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the Year Books, the primary body of early English court reports. A cornerstone of the common law, they are also a primary source for our knowledge of law in medieval England and useful documents of contemporary English life, customs and manners. The origin of the Year Books is unknown. Some scholars believe they originated as collections of notes taken by law students in court for study. Holdsworth maintains they were made by lawyers for personal use. Though it is not known when the first manuscript volumes were compiled, the cases in all known examples are from the 1270's to 1535. Printed editions of the Year Books were first issued by William de Machlinia between 1481 and 1482. Our volume is from the so-called "quarto edition," a series of volumes issued by various printers from 1522 to 1619. Holdsworth, A History of English Law V: 357-377. English Short-Title Catalogue S121407. Beale, A Bibliography of Early English Law Books R372.