Full Description
Brings together 15 principal essays by David Sellar (1941 2019), reflecting his pioneering contribution to Scottish legal history
Groups essays into topics, covering Celtic law and institutions, the influence of Canon and English law across a wide range of legal subjects (including family law, succession, criminal law, evidence) and customary law
Includes a paper written during Sellar's time as Lord Lyon King of Arms (2008 14) but left unpublished at his death, dealing with the history of the office of Lyon itself and arguing for its ancient Celtic origins
Demonstrates the continuity of legal institutions in Scotland from the early middle ages on, assesses influences shaping change over time, and the processes of integration and then re-integration down to the present
Includes a general introduction by Hector L. MacQueen assessing and contextualising Sellar's contribution to the field
David Sellar was a pioneering historian of Scots law who rejected previous interpretations of the subject as a series of false starts and rejected experiments. He emphasised instead the continuity of legal development, with change a process of integration of external influences from very early times on. Sellar's approach, articulated mainly through essays published in diverse places over four decades, significantly influenced our general understanding of legal history in Scotland as well as leading to appreciation elsewhere of its comparative significance.
By gathering Sellar's major essays in a single collection, this book demonstrates the scope and reach of Sellar's overall contribution. It provides an opportunity to view Sellar's work as a whole and to access his distinctive perspective on the overall trajectory of Scottish law.
Contents
Introduction: David Sellar, Legal Historian,H L MacQueen
The Continuity of Scottish Legal History: An Overview
Part I: Celtic Law and Birlaw: Customary Law
Celtic Law and Scots Law: Survival and Integration
Marriage, Divorce and Concubinage in Gaelic Scotland
The Lyon and the Seannachie
Birlaw Courts and Birleymen
Part II: The Influence of English Law
English Law as a Source of Stair's Institutions
The Resilience of the Scottish Common Law
Scots Law: Mixed from the Very Beginning? A Tale of Two Receptions
Part III: The Influence of Canon Law: Marriage, Divorce and Homicide
Marriage by Cohabitation with Habit and Repute: Review and Requiem?
Marriage, Divorce and the Forbidden Degrees: Canon Law and Scots Law
Forethocht Felony, Malice Aforethought and the Classification of Homicide
Part IV: The Influence of English and Canon Law: Succession
Juridical Acts Made in Contemplation of Death
Succession
Courtesy, Battle and the Brieve of Right, 1368
Part V: The Influence of the European Jus Commune
Promise
Presumptions
