This book revisits one of the defining judicial engagements in English legal history.
It provides a fresh account of the years 1606 to 1616 which witnessed a series of increasingly volatile confrontations between, on the one side, King James I and his Attorney-General, Sir Francis Bacon, and on the other, Sir Edward Coke, successively Chief Justice of Common Pleas and Lord Chief Justice.
At the heart of the dispute were differing opinions regarding the nature of kingship and the reach of prerogative in reformation England. Appreciating the longer context, in the summer of 1616 King James appealed for a reformation of law and constitution to complement the reformation of his Church.
Later historians would discern in these debates the seeding of a century of revolution, followed by another four centuries of reform. This book ventures the further thought that the arguments which echoed around Westminster Hall in the first years of the seventeenth century have lost little of their resonance half a millennium on. Breaks with Rome are little easier to ‘get done’, the margins of executive governance little easier to draw.
By:
Professor Ian Ward Imprint: Hart Publishing Country of Publication: United Kingdom Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
ISBN:9781509957750 ISBN 10: 1509957758 Pages: 232 Publication Date:02 May 2024 Audience:
College/higher education
,
Further / Higher Education
Format:Hardback Publisher's Status: Active
Ian Ward is Professor of Law at Newcastle University, UK.