Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Age of Lawyers: The Roots of American Law in Shakespeare's Britain

Paster Reading Room (credit)
We have the following announcement of a new (and free) exhibit at the Folger, Age of Lawyers: The Roots of American Law in Shakespeare's Britain.  The curator is the Folger’s Caroline Duroselle-Melish.  The Academic Advisor is Erin Kidwell of the Georgetown Law Library.  (Georgetown is loaning Sir Edward Coke’s annotated copy of Bracton.)  The exhibit runs September 12, 2015 through January 3, 2016, so plan on viewing it when you’re in town for the ASLH meeting a few blocks away.  The exhibit is in memory of Dr. Christopher Brooks (1948–2014).
In the 800th anniversary year of the Magna Carta, Age of Lawyers will offer a close-up look at the rapid increase of lawyers and legal actions in Shakespeare's Britain, from the law's impact on daily life to major political and legal disputes—some invoking the Magna Carta—that still influence American politics and government.

Age of Lawyers will give visitors the chance to explore many of the Folger legal manuscripts on display in further depth through newly digitized images and translated transcripts produced by a current Folger project, Early Modern Manuscripts Online (EMMO).