The Private Worlds of Men of Law, 1258-1558

An interdisciplinary study of the way of life, social milieu and ethos of men of law in the period 1258-1558.

This interdisciplinary study explores both the professional and personal lives of medieval and early Tudor lawyers, offering new insights into the evolution of the legal profession and the values of early modern society.

Employing a mix of group analysis and specific examples, Musson highlights lawyers' social aspirations and dynastic ambitions, their achievements and disappointments, and their attempts to merge into gentry culture. In particular, he reveals key aspects of their private lives: from personal details and individual characteristics, their religious beliefs and the nature of their marriages and alliances to where they lived, what they built and how they conducted themselves in society. By providing an historical reconstruction of the social milieu and ethos of the whole spectrum of ‘men of law’, from senior judges and specialist pleaders to locally-focused practitioners based in the provinces, this book emphasizes the social and cultural impact of the legal profession on medieval and early Tudor England.