Commentaries on the Laws of England: Book II: Of the Rights of Things

by William Blackstone, Simon Stern (Editor)

Overview

Oxford's variorum edition of William Blackstone's seminal treatise on the common law of England and Wales offers the definitive account of the Commentaries' development in a modern format. For the first time it is possible to trace the evolution of English law and Blackstone's thought through the eight editions of Blackstone's lifetime, and the authorial corrections of the posthumous ninth edition. Introductions by the general editor and the volume editors set the Commentaries in their historical context, examining Blackstone's distinctive view of the common law, and editorial notes throughout the four volumes assist the modern reader in understanding this key text in the Anglo-American common law tradition. Property law is the subject of Book II, the second and longest volume of Blackstone's Commentaries. His lucid exposition covers feudalism and its history, real estate and the forms of tenure that a land-owner may have, and personal property, including the new kinds of intangible property that were developing in Blackstone's era, such as negotiable instruments and intellectual property.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191077616
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	08/04/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	450
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Sir William Blackstone (1723-1780) was a prominent public figure in the eighteenth century. Judge and jurist, barrister and politician, his work has had a profound influence on the Anglo-American legal tradition. The first Vinerian Professor of English Law, Blackstone was a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas at the time of his death. The Commentaries published in eight editions in his lifetime, and a posthumous ninth edition in 1783. Simon Stern teaches law and English at the University of Toronto. His publications include articles and book chapters on various aspects of Anglo-American legal and literary history in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including intellectual property, obscenity, search and seizure, and criminal law. His current research examines the history and theory of legal fictions.

Table of Contents

Introduction to Book II, Simon Stern
Editorial Conventions, Wilfrid Prest
Book the Second: Of the Rights of Things
I. Of Property, in General
II. Of Real Property; and, First, of Corporeal Hereditaments
III. Of Incorporeal Hereditaments
IV. Of the Feodal System
V. Of the Antient English Tenures
VI. Of the Modern English Tenures
VII. Of Freehold Estates, of Inheritance
VIII. Of Freeholds, not of Inheritance
IX. Of Estates, less than Freehold
X. Of Estates upon Condition
XI. Of Estates in Possession, Remainder, and Reversion
XII. Of Estates in Severalty, Joint-tenancy, Coparcenary, and Common
XIII. Of the Title to Things Real, in General
XIV. Of Title by Descent
XV. Of Title by Purchase; and, first, by Escheat
XVI. Of Title by Occupancy
XVII. Of Title by Prescription
XVIII. Of Title by Forfeiture
XIX. Of Title by Alienation
XX. Of Alienation by Deed
XXI. Of Alienation by Matter of Record
XXII. Of Alienation by Special Custom
XXIII. Of Alienation by Devise
XXIV. Of Things Personal
XXV. Of Property in Things Personal
XXVI. Of Title to Things Personal, by Occupancy
XXVII. Of Title by Prerogative, and Forfeiture
XXVIII. Of Title by Custom
XXIX. Of Title by Succession, Marriage, and Judgment
XXX. Of Title by Gift, Grant, and Contract
XXXI. Of Title by Bankruptcy
XXXII. Of Title by Testament, and Administration

Editorial Reviews

"Blackstone's Commentaries remain a central source for understanding both historical and modern Anglo-American law - as well as debates in Anglo-American legal philosophy - and Oxford University Press's new edition of the Commentaries offers a valuable new resource for studying them."—Brian Bix, Frederick W. Thomas Professor of Law and Philosophy, Jotwell

From the Publisher