An analysis of the laws of England (1771)

''An Analysis of the Laws of England'' is a legal treatise by British legal professor

William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century. He is most noted for writing the ''Commentaries on the Laws of England''. Born into a middle-class family ...

. It was first published by the

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

in 1756. A

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of ...

, and a lecturer there, on 3 July 1753 Blackstone announced his intentions to give a set of lectures on the common law — the first lectures of that sort in the world. A prospectus was issued on 23 June 1753, and with a class of approximately 20 students, the first lecture series was completed by July 1754. Despite Blackstone's limited oratory skills and a speaking style described by

Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. 4 February 1747– 6 June 1832) was an English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism. Bentham defined as the "fundam ...

as "formal, precise and affected", Blackstone's lectures were warmly appreciated. The second and third series were far more popular, partially due to his then unusual use of printed handouts and lists of suggested reading. These show Blackstone's attempts to reduce English law to a logical system, with the division of subjects later being the basis for his ''Commentaries''. The lecture series brought him £116, £226 and £111 a year respectively from 1753 to 1755 — a total of £ in terms. Seeing the success of this publication, Blackstone was induced to write ''An Analysis of the Laws of England'', a 200-page introduction to English law, which was first published in 1756 by the

. ''Analysis'' begins with a summary of the ways that English law had been subdivided until that time. Blackstone examined the methods of

Ranulf de Glanvill Ranulf de Glanvill (''alias'' Glanvil, Glanville, Granville, etc., died 1190) was Chief Justiciar of England during the reign of King Henry II (1154–89) and was the probable author of ''Tractatus de legibus et consuetudinibus regni Anglie'' ( ...

Henry de Bracton Henry of Bracton, also Henry de Bracton, also Henricus Bracton, or Henry Bratton also Henry Bretton (c. 1210 – c. 1268) was an English cleric and jurist. He is famous now for his writings on law, particularly ''De legibus et consuetudinibus ...

and Matthew Hale, concluding that Hale's method was superior to the others. As such, Hale's distribution "hath therefore been principally followed" y Blackstone in ''An Analysis . . '' albeit with some amendments. The treatise is "a marked advance on any previous introduction to English law . . including constitutional, civil and criminal law, public and private law, substantive law and procedure, as well as some introductory jurisprudential content".Prest (2008) p. 143 The initial print run of 1,000 copies almost immediately sold out, leading to the printing of three additional 1,000-book lots over the next three years, which also sold out. A fifth edition was published in 1762,Prest (2008) p. 144 and a sixth, edited to take into account Blackstone's ''

Commentaries on the Laws of England The ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'' are an influential 18th-century treatise on the common law of England by Sir William Blackstone, originally published by the Clarendon Press at Oxford, 1765–1770. The work is divided into four volum ...

'', in 1771. Many of the later editions were prefaced with copies of Blackstone's '' A Discourse on the Study of the Law'', first published in 1758.Prest (2008) p. 151 Because of the success of the ''Commentaries'', Prest remarks that "relatively little scholarly attention has been paid to this work"; at the time, however, it was hailed as "an elegant performance...calculated to facilitate this branch of knowledge".

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* * * * {{Authority control Legal treatises 1756 in British law English law 1756 books Clarendon Press books