De Termino Michaelis Anno Primo Eduardi Quarti [Bound with] 19..

1556. London: Richard Tottill [Tottell], 1556-1572. London: Richard Tottill [Tottell], 1556-1572. Complete Run of 20 Year Books of Edward IV [Year Books]. Edward IV [1442-1483], King of England. De Termino Michaelis Anno Primo Eduardi Quarti. [London: Imprinted...In Fleetstrete within Temple Barre at the signe of the hande and starre, by Richard Tottill, Anno. 1556 [i.e. 1571?]]. x ff. [Bound with] [19 Year Books of Edward IV, Years 2-22]. [London: Richard Tottell, 1556-1572]. All text collates complete; one blank lacking. Contemporary paneled calf, large central blind arabesques, rebacked and recornered in period style with raised bands, blind fillets and gilt title to spine, endpapers renewed. Light rubbing, scuffing, faint dampstaining and a few small holes to boards, moderate rubbing to board edges, corners bumped, ink annotation (Edw. 4) to fore-edge of text block, front hinge mended, rear hinge cracked, later owner name (William Humfrys) to front pastedown. Light toning to interior, annotations, underlining or minor corrections in ink in a (likely single) early hand to nearly every page, very light foxing and soiling in a few places, small tears or chips to fore-edges of a few leaves, minor loss to annotations on two pages, no loss to text. An impressive complete collection. $10,000. * It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the Year Books. As a series of notes on debates and points of pleadings in Norman England they are of crucial primary sources for our knowledge of medieval common law. They also provide a richly detailed portrait of contemporary English life, customs and manners. The origin of the Year Books is unknown. Some scholars believe the earliest volumes were notes transcribed by law students for study. Other maintain they were made by lawyers to use in practice. Though it is not known when the first manuscript volumes were compiled, the cases date from the 1270s to 1535. Printed editions of the Year Books were first issued by William de Machlinia between 1481 and 1482. The present titles belong to the so-called "Quarto Edition." Not a set or edition in the conventional sense, these volumes were issued separately with various dates and impressions between 1522 and 1619. The extensive annotations to our volume, some brief glosses and others case citations and references to other Year Books, indicate detailed review by an early reader and demonstrate the utility of the Year Books t.