Arthur Duck (1580 – 16 December 1648),

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; la, Legis Civilis Doctor or Juris Civilis Doctor) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher ...

(LL.D.) was an English lawyer, author and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

Origins

Duck was born at

Heavitree Heavitree is a historic village and parish situated formerly outside the walls of the City of Exeter in Devon, England, and is today an eastern district of that city. It was formerly the first significant village outside the city on the road to ...

, near Exeter,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. the younger son of Richard Duck and his wife Joanna. His elder brother was the lawyer Nicholas Duck (1570-1628). Duck was educated at

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

(B.A., 1599) and

Hart Hall, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colleg ...

(M.A., 1602), and was elected a fellow of All Souls in 1604. In 1612 he was made a Doctor of Laws (

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

), and in 1614 was admitted as an Advocate of Doctor's Commons. As a jurist Duck was a pupil of

John Budden John Budden (1566–1620) was an English jurist, Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford, and Principal of Broadgates Hall. Life He was the son of John Budden of Canford, Dorset—his birthplace. He entered Merton College, Oxford, in Michaelmas 1 ...

Career

In 1624, Duck became a Member of Parliament for Minehead,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. and again in the Short Parliament of 1640. Duck was associated with the future

Archbishop Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 16 ...

for some years. Duck wrote an opinion that a statute drafted by Laud for

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, was not ''ultra vires'' is mentioned in the Calendar of State Papers in 1625–6. Duck became Chancellor of the Diocese of London at about the time Laud was translated to the

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

in 1628; by 1633 Duck is recorded as pleading a case for Laud before the King and Council on appeal from the

Dean of Arches The Dean of the Arches is the judge who presides in the provincial ecclesiastical court of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This court is called the Arches Court of Canterbury. It hears appeals from consistory courts and bishop's disciplinary trib ...

. Also in 1633, he was placed on the Ecclesiastical Commission. Duck later became Chancellor of Bath and Wells in 1635, and held numerous other ecclesiastical and administrative posts. In 1641, Duck unsuccessfully contested the appointment of Sir William Meyrick as judge of the

prerogative court In law, a prerogative is an exclusive right bestowed by a government or state and invested in an individual or group, the content of which is separate from the body of rights enjoyed under the general law. It was a common facet of feudal law. The ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

. He was appointed a Master of Requests by

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1643 and

Master in Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equ ...

in 1645. In 1648 Charles I, then a prisoner of Parliament, requested that Parliament allow him Duck's help in negotiating a settlement to the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. It is not known if Parliament granted this request. Duck acquired the

prebendal A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of t ...

manor of Chiswick in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, held under a lease from St Paul's Cathedral in London. . The '' Dictionary of National Biography'' records that Duck died in

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in December 1648, and was buried at Chiswick in May 1649. However, Foss lists him as still a Master of Chancery from 1649 to 1650.

Literary works

Duck wrote the following works: *''Vita Henrici Chichele archiepiscopi Cantuariensis sub regibus Henrico V et VI'', Oxford, 1617. A life of Henry Chichele, it was reprinted, ed. William Bates, in ''Vitæ Selectorum aliquot Virorum'', London, 1681, and was translated anonymously London, 1699. It used an earlier life by Roger Hovenden. *''De Usu et Authoritate Juris Civilis Romanorum'', London, 1653 (assisted by

Gerard Langbaine the Elder Gerard Langbaine, the elder (1609 – 10 February 1658) was an English academic and clergyman, known as a scholar, royalist, and Provost of Queen's College, Oxford during the siege of the city. Life He was the son of William Langbaine, born at Ba ...

). It was translated in part by John Beaver in 1724 as ''On the Use and Authority of the Civil Law in the Kingdom of England'' and bound in the same volume with the translation of Claude Joseph de Ferrière's ''History of the Roman Law'', London. It gives detailed information on the reception of

Roman law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...

in different European countries. According to one commentator, the Chichele biography was anti-papalist and negative about the foundations of

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

. The ''De Usu'' took a line on the " ancient constitution" that was hostile to royal authority. It raised the general historical question of how law had evolved differently in different states.

Pietro Giannone Pietro Giannone (7 May 1676 – 17 March 1748) was an Italian philosopher, historian and jurist born in Ischitella, in the province of Foggia. He opposed the papal influence in Naples, for which he was excommunicated and imprisoned for twelve ...

considered this point in relation to the Kingdom of Naples and Kingdom of Sicily.

Marriage and children

Duck was married at Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew by Bishop Lake to Margaret Southworth, daughter of Henry Southworth, merchant, of London and Wells. The couple had two daughters, according to the biographer John Prince, (1643–1723): Prince, John, (1643–1723) The Worthies of Devon, 1810 edition, London, p.341 *Martha Duck, who married (1) William Duck, (2) Nicholas Duck (1630–1667), of Mount Radford, Exeter, her first cousin once removed, and (3) Sir Thomas Carew, 1st Baronet, of

Haccombe Haccombe is a hamlet, former parish and historic manor in Devon, situated 2 1/2 miles east of Newton Abbot, in the south of the county. It is possibly the smallest parish in England, and was said in 1810 to be remarkable for containing only two ...

; *Mary Duck, who married William Harbord, MP, of Grafton Park,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

References

* *

Browne Willis Browne Willis (16 September 1682 – 5 February 1760) was an antiquary, author, numismatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1708. Early life Willis was born at Blandford St Mary, Dorset, the eldest son of Thomas Will ...

, ''Notitia Parliamentaria'' (London, 1750)
Google Books
*Edward Foss, ''The Judges of England'', Volume 6 (London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans & Roberts, 1857)
Google Books
* Gabor Hamza, Entstehung und Entwicklung der modernen Privatrechtsordnungen und die römischrechtliche Tradition, Budapest, 2009. 407 sqq. pp.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Duck, Arthur 1580 births 1648 deaths Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Members of Doctors' Commons English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1640 (April) Lawyers from Exeter