The Evolution of Western Private Law

by Alan Watson

Overview

In The Evolution of Western Private Law, renowned legal scholar Alan Watson presents a comprehensive overview of legal change in the Western world. Watson explains why and how such change occurs in mature systems, in underdeveloped systems, and when legal systems of different levels of sophistication and from different societal roots—such as those of the Romans and of Germanic tribes—come into contact.

Originally intended as a second edition of the author's widely acclaimed The Evolution of Law (1985), this expanded edition has been completely restructured with more than double the number of examples. The result is a work that incorporates all the ideas that Watson has put forward during his twenty-five years studying comparative law and the development of legal systems, combining a remarkable range of sources with superb insight.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801864841
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	12/01/2000
Edition description:	expanded edition
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.97(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Alan Watson is the Ernest P. Rogers Professor and Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Georgia Law School. He is the author of Failures of the Legal Imagination, Slave Law in the Americas, International Law in Archaic Rome, and Roman Slave Law, the last two available from Johns Hopkins.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
1. Legislation
2. Jurists
3. Judges
4. Custom
5. Legislation and Jurists: French Delit
6. Jurists, Judges, Custom, Legislation: Water Rights
7. Legal Transplants I: The Cause of the Reception of Roman Law
8. Legal Transplants 2: Other Reception of Roman Law
9. The Case of English Common law
10. Humanism, The Law of Reason, Codification
11. Conclusions
Notes
Glossary
Index

Editorial Reviews

The Evolution of Western Private Law is an innovative look at the development of the Western legal tradition. It makes an important contribution to the literature on legal history, and Watson has carefully examined the sources and the relevant legal documents. Although highly detailed and somewhat technical, Watson writes with great clarity.
—Gerald J. Russello, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

A pioneering work [that] bids fair to open up a new direction in legal history . . . This book maintains the scholarly standards of Watson's previous works, and it is certainly one of his most provocative offerings.
—American Journal of Philology

A bold, brilliant, and provocative book that will occasion much debate in legal circles.
—American Historical Review

From the Publisher

A bold, brilliant, and provocative book that will occasion much debate in legal circles.

American Historical Review

The Evolution of Western Private Law is an innovative look at the development of the Western legal tradition. It makes an important contribution to the literature on legal history, and Watson has carefully examined the sources and the relevant legal documents. Although highly detailed and somewhat technical, Watson writes with great clarity.

Bryn Mawr Classical Review - Gerald J. Russello

A pioneering work [that] bids fair to open up a new direction in legal history . . . This book maintains the scholarly standards of Watson's previous works, and it is certainly one of his most provocative offerings.

American Journal of Philology

The Evolution of Western Private Law is an innovative look at the development of the Western legal tradition. It makes an important contribution to the literature on legal history, and Watson has carefully examined the sources and the relevant legal documents. Although highly detailed and somewhat technical, Watson writes with great clarity.

— Gerald J. Russello

Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Watson (University of Georgia Law School) overviews legal change in the Western world. He explains how and why such change occurs in mature systems, in underdeveloped systems, and when legal systems of different levels of sophistication and from different societal roots, such as those of the Romans and of Germanic tribes, combine on contact. Originally intended as a second edition of the author's (1985), this expanded edition has been completely restructured with more than double the number of examples. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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