Historia Placitorum Coronae. The History of the Pleas of the Crown..

2016. ISBN-13: 9781584772828; ISBN-10: 1584772824. Hale, Sir Matthew. Historia Placitorum Coronae. The History of the Pleas of the Crown. Now First Published from his Lordship's Original Manuscript, and the Several References to the Records Examined by the Originals, with Large Notes. By Sollem Emlyn of Lincoln's Inn, Esq. To which is added a Table of the Principle Matters. Originally published: [London]: Printed by E. and R. Nutt and R. Gosling, 1736. 2 Volumes. [iv], xxviii, 710; [vi], 414, [415-620] pp. Reprinted 2003, 2016 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN-13: 9781584772828; ISBN-10: 1584772824. Hardcover. New. $125. * Reprint of the first edition. Widely acclaimed for its skillful, comprehensive and masterful discourse, this is the first history of English criminal law. Although Hale had planned to write this work in three books; only the first book was completed before his death. It covers the capital offenses - treasons and felonies. "This book, so far as it extends, gives a complete presentment of this branch of the law, both in its development and in its condition at Hale's own time...Ever since its first publication it has been regarded as a book of the highest authority."--Sir William Holdsworth, Sources and Literature of English Law 152-153. SIR MATTHEW HALE [1609-1676] was an important scholar of English common law. He was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1628 where he studied under John Selden. Hale was knighted in 1660. He was chief baron of the Exchequer from 1660 to 1666 when he became chief justice of the King's Bench. See Winfield, The Chief Sources of English Legal History 327-328.