Comparative Procedure: Case Law in Later Medieval England (D02*)

• Subject Area: Medieval History
• Term: from 2021 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 317664947

This subproject is addressing the practices of comparing that first made English case law possible. Comparing cases in order to find similarities that can be used to justify a decision and thereby establish law is central to Common Law. Two corpora of sources are being analysed in the form of two case studies: the alleged writings of Henry de Bracton from the 13th century as well as the so-called yearbooks from the 14th and 15th centuries. Both demonstrate the practices of comparing and their stabilization. The project focuses not only on the emergence as well as the stabilization of Common Law as a formation of practices but also on the role of law finders and lawmakers as a community of practice.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1288: Practices of comparisons: Ordering and changing the world
• Applicant Institution: Universität Bielefeld
• Project Head: Professorin Dr. Silke Schwandt