Thomas Craig on the origin and development of feudal law

Citation

Dodd L (2019) Thomas Craig on the origin and development of feudal law. Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis, 87 (1-2), pp. 86-127. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718190-08712p04

Abstract
When Thomas Craig (c.1538-1608) wrote his great treatise on Scottish feudal practice, the Jus feudale, he devoted a considerable part of the first book to legal origins. This article deals with Craig’s treatment narrative on the origins of feudal law and tenure in the fourth and fifth titles of the first book. By close examination of the text, the detailed formulation of Craig’s argumentation and technique is uncovered as well as the myriad classical, mediaeval and humanist sources upon which his literary project was based. In this way, the deep relationship between Craig – and by extension Scots law – and the historico-legal product of the French legal humanists is explored.

Keywords
Thomas Craig; feudal law; Scotland; Scottish legal history; Jus Feudale; Tacitus; legal humanism; feudalism

Journal
Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis: Volume 87, Issue 1-2

People

Dr Leslie Dodd

Lecturer in Scots Law, Law