Overview

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evidence) and customary law Includes a paper written during Sellar's time as Lord Lyon King of Arms (2008 14) but left unpublished at his death, dealing with the history of the office of Lyon itself and arguing for its ancient Celtic origins Demonstrates the continuity of legal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.

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9781474488778

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Reviews

"There are sixteen essays (let us call them chapters)in the book, of which three are directly concerned with Gaelic and the Highlands, and four contain passages of interest to Highland historians. Another nine are simply well worth reading by anyone, for David had an engagingly fluid, anecdotal style, and topics like cohabitation (Ch. 9), divorce (Ch. 10), murder (Ch. 11) and deathbed wishes (Ch. 12) come alive before our eyes.--Ronald Black ""West Highland Notes and Queries"""

Author Information

Hector MacQueen has been a member of the Edinburgh Law School since 1979. Appointed to the Chair of Private Law in 1994, he was Dean of the Law School 1999-2003, and Dean of Research and Deputy Head of the College of Humanities and Social Science in the University 2004-2008. He is currently a Scottish Law Commissioner. He is the author of many books and articles on Scots law and its historical development in comparative perspective, and of key textbooks such as The Scottish Legal System (5th edition) (2013), Unjustified Enrichment Law Basics (3rd edition) (2013), and Studying Scots Law 4th edition (2012).

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