Absolutism and the ‘rule of law’ in Denmark 1660–c. 1750

With the introduction of absolutism in Denmark, the country became one of the two most absolute monarchies in Europe. The question arises whether the concept of the ‘rule of law’ was compatible with absolutism, or whether it was totally contrary to this form of government. Through an analysis of the criteria central to the concept of the ‘rule of law’, for example, the public proclamation of laws, the independence of the courts, predictable proceedings, the right of appeal, due care, legal aid, promptness of legal proceedings etc., and evidence of practice from public records, the present article concludes that although the ‘rule of law’ was fragile, as it depended on the absolute king's mercy, there was an ideal among the ruling elite that the ‘rule of law’ ought to be respected, and the rural and urban population trusted the system.     

Survival strategies of widows and their families in early modern Holland,c. 1580–1750

This article analyses the impact of widowhood upon women in early modern urban society in Holland. Widows were able to maintain their households and to minimize the discontinuity with their lives when married. A remarkably egalitarian inheritance and marital property law, access to a broad range of occupations, a privileged status, an extended poor relief system, institutionalised mutual assistance and new forms of financial provisions for widows enabled widows to survive after the loss of an adult male breadwinner. However, legal rights, social provisions and economic opportunities available to women in the Dutch Golden Age and thereafter, could not prevent social polarization after women lost their spouse.     

The Irish Court of Appeal in Chancery, 1857–77

The Irish Court of Appeal in Chancery was established in 1856 and began work in 1857. From then until the end of 1877 when the Courts of Common Law and Equity were replaced by the new Supreme Court established under the Judicature (Ir) Act of that year the Court sat to hear appeals against decrees made by the Lord Chancellor, Master of the Rolls or Vice-Chancellor in the Court of Chancery, against decisions of the Incumbered Estates Court or its successor the Landed Estates Court, and against decisions of the Courts of Probate, Bankruptcy and Insolvency, Admiralty, and Matrimonial Causes and Matters. The ourt was the counterpart of the Court of Appeal in Chancery established a few years earlier in England, but the chain of events by which the Irish Court came into existence, along with the membership of the Court and its consequences, make the history of the Irish Court unique. The purpose of this article is to explore those issues.     

Patent Cases in the Court of Chancery, 1714–58

The purpose of this article is two-fold. First, it discusses recent improvements in the cataloguing of Chancery bills and pleadings entered between 1714 and 1758, held in the C 11 series at the National Archives. This has made it much easier to locate cases by subject, and a methodology for doing this is described. Secondly, the article outlines the results of work carried out in C 11 on cases relating to patents for invention. Although there has been significant research into how other forms of intellectual property right were adjudicated in the Court of Chancery, notably copyright, patent law for this period remains obscure. The article shows that Chancery (along with the common law courts) retained the principal jurisdiction in patent law, rather than the Privy Council as was once thought.     

Felony Forfeiture in England,c.1170–1870

For much of English history, offenders punishable with death also forfeited their possessions. This article offers an overview of this long overlooked practice, demonstrating its continuation through to 1870, describing its contours, and charting how and why it changed over time. Intended primarily as a platform for future work, it also elucidates the history of the felony concept. Furthermore, forfeiture – the original, defining feature of felony – was all about property. Thus, the article also suggests that as long as forfeiture survived, the criminal law was shaped by the changing nature of ‘property’ itself.     

Breaking the silence. Family ties and social networks of the deaf. A case study of East Flanders,Belgium, 1750–1950

In this article the social networks and family ties of a pre-industrial (married and/or died between 1770 and 1850) and industrial (married and/or died between 1850 and 1950) cohort of deaf men and women are compared to each other and to a cohort of non-disabled siblings. The aim is to assess the extent to which the deaf participated in a full-fledged manner in family and social life and to evaluate the ways in which their social networks changed as a result of nineteenth-century industrialisation processes. The extent of social integration is deduced from the profile of the witnesses registered in marriage and death certificates. In the absence of personal testimonies of social experiences, demographic sources are invaluable for providing a glimpse of the everyday social life of ordinary people in the past. In combination with historical records identifying disabled individuals, this research is a first attempt to study the social opportunities of an up-until-now often forgotten, but nevertheless integral part of society: the disabled. Based on the analysis of the witnesses, this article argues that in the course of the nineteenth century deaf individuals became less embedded in their social environment and their relationship with their family weakened. The minority of married deaf persons, however, expressed a much higher connectedness with family.     

The Reception of Magna Carta in Early Modern Germany,c. 1650–1800

The article examines how far the reinvigoration of Magna Carta in seventeenth-century British legal thought was received into German discourses between c. 1650 and 1800. An analysis of early modern German works on feudal law and ius publicum, of historical writings as well as of political literature reveals a formal, but no substantive reception: early modern German scholarship betrays no signs of an effort to discuss or describe the actual contents, provisions and meaning of Magna Carta. Rather, from the mid-eighteenth century onwards, the Great Charter enters political debate as a trope for a constitutional guarantee of unnamed personal liberties.     

Widows: Outsiders in rural economy and society in central European villages, 1558–1750

Due to the lack of micro-historical empirical studies, a general account of the situation of women in early modern rural societies of demesne lordship (Gutsherrschaft) is not possible, yet. Previous research has generally assumed that their economic position was difficult. Recent studies, however, aimed to modify this picture by emphasizing, in particular, their independent economic activities, especially with increasing age.This paper will address the position of widows in rural society. It will analyze land transfer contracts for three individual villages of the Northern Bohemian estate of Frýdlant between 1558 and 1750 and contrast the results with normative sources of the same estate. It will particularly deal with the question whether widows could work subject farms and holdings independently and how they secured livelihood after selling their properties.     

The Emergence and Development of Statutory Process for the Compulsory Purchase of Land for Transport Infrastructure in England and Wales,c.1530–1800

Before 1539, highway improvement in England and Wales (other than the clearance of illegal obstructions) was achieved only by crown licence following a satisfactory inquisition ad quod damnum. Magna Carta chapter 39 recorded that ‘that no free man is to be?…?disseised?…?except by?…?the law of the land’, but in the wake of other wide-ranging reforms in the 1530s, amid a growing sense of the common weal and desire for ‘improvement’, parliament overcame this obstacle to economic infrastructural development by adjustment of ‘the law of the land’, assuming prerogative power and delegating by statute the authority for the compulsory purchase of land. In this case it was for river navigation at Exeter, and not until 1662 was the power extended to roads. Compensation was always to be paid, but legislation rarely stipulated the explicit outright purchase of freehold. Parliament was willing to grant these powers to trustees or other public bodies, or indeed to private individuals, but only if it was considered that doing so served the public interest.     

Crime and Punishment in Sweden: Historical Criminal Justice Statistics 1750–2000

The article is a summary of a book in Swedish on the development of crime (that is, violence and theft) and punishment in Sweden in a historical perspective. The data stem mostly from conviction statistics. Following a discussion of the reliability of conviction statistics, trends in these statistics are described and various criminological explanations for these trends are discussed.     

Population and households dynamics: A mountainous district in northern Japan in the Shûmon Aratame Chô of Aizu, 1750–1850

The authors examine population trends, demographic characteristics, and the family reproduction system in a highland area of Japan. Aizu district is located in northeastern Japan and has both a mountainous area and a narrow plain. The study is based on Shûmon Aratame Chô (SAC), population registers of four villages between 1750 and 1850 and focuses on the mountainous sector. Demographically, this area stagnated because of its isolation and remoteness. There were few migrations in or out. The peasants married early but bore few children. The authors show how demographic patterns are interrelated with family and household patterns. The most frequent family type was the stem family household, traditionally considered as characteristic of Japan, where the ie (house) was usually transmitted to a single heir. Family transmissions of the rural estate are observed in detail. A household cycle took about 30–35 years to complete. Major differences were seen among social classes, but, overall, Aizu families possessed ideals of ie and were incorporated into ie systems, particularly in the upper classes.     

Lost in registration? Missing occupations of single women in the Bruges countryside,c.1814

The absence of occupational titles for women in historical censuses has stymied numerous scholars. Various authors have explained this phenomenon as carelessness or bias on the part of the census-takers. Women's work was of little interest to the authorities and census officials focused their efforts upon the activities of the head of household. While source triangulation can be a useful tool for uncovering ‘hidden’ employment of women, it is often a complex and time-consuming process. In this article we outline an alternative to deal with the issue of missing occupations of single women in censuses by exploring their living arrangements. We identify four aspects of co-residence that can highlight the roles played within the household by single women without registered employment: their relation to the head of the household, and that individual's occupation, property and marital status. Comparing data from the 1814 population census regarding two social agro-systems and the city of Bruges, we argue that occupational titles of single women were not randomly omitted by the census officials, but reflect the embeddedness of these women in the family economy and household. While we do not refute recent research that stresses single women's economic independence during the long eighteenth century, our findings suggest that for a subset of singles this was not the case. We claim that by studying registered labour only, the historical picture of single women's work is biased or at the very least incomplete.     

Structure and strategy. Two rural communities in the Kempen region of Belgium, 1850–1910

This article starts with a methodological question: By carrying out a structural analysis of a local community, is it possible to gain insight into the labor strategies of the families within that community? This structural analysis is based on the reconstruction and integration of population, labor, and income data of individual households within two villages in 19th century Belgium. Basically, this exercise is to understand two sets of correlations: (a) between social differentiation and the family cycle and (b) between shifts in the social relationship between families and generations and the survival strategies of those families. This article shows that a structural approach to labor and income strategies can reveal how and why former strategies can lose their relevance and new choices are made relating to new networks of solidarity.     

Judgeships in the U.S. courts of appeals and in the U.S. district courts: Characteristics of democratic and republican presidential appointees from 1963–1990

The present study examined the characteristics of presidential appointees to the U.S. Courts of Appeals and the U.S. District Courts from 1963–1990. An over‐representation of white, protestant men is noted, regardless of the political party of the appointing administration. Appointees of Democratic and Republican administrations did not differ significantly in terms of law school attended, occupation at nomination or appointment, or American Bar Association rating. The conclusion calls for a more diverse judiciary.