Frederic William Maitland (28 May 1850 – ) was an English
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
and
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
who is regarded as the modern father of English
legal history
Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it has changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilisations and operates in the wider context of social history. Certain jurists and histo ...
.
Early life and education, 1850–72
Frederic William Maitland was born at 53
Guilford Street
Guilford Street is a road in Bloomsbury in central London, England, designated the B502. From Russell Square it extends east-northeast to Gray's Inn Road. Note that it is not spelt the same way as Guildford in Surrey. It is, in fact, named after ...
, London, in 1850, the only son and second of three children of
John Gorham Maitland
John Gorham Maitland (1818–1863) was an English academic and civil servant; he was a Cambridge Apostle.
Life
He was the son of Samuel Roffey Maitland. He was born at Taunton, and had a private education.
Maitland was admitted to Trinity Colle ...
and of Emma, daughter of
John Frederic Daniell
John Frederic Daniell FRS (12 March 1790 – 13 March 1845) was an English chemist and physicist.
Biography
Daniell was born in London. In 1831 he became the first professor of chemistry at the newly founded King's College London; and in 18 ...
. His grandfather was
Samuel Roffey Maitland
Samuel Roffey Maitland (1792–1866) was an English historian and miscellaneous writer on religious topics. He was qualified as an Anglican priest, and worked also as a librarian, barrister and editor.
Early life
Maitland was born in London at Ki ...
. Maitland's father was a barrister but, having little practice, became a civil servant, serving as secretary to the
Civil Service Commission
A civil service commission is a government agency that is constituted by legislature to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, oversee hiring and promotions, and promote the values of the public service. Its role is rough ...
.
Maitland was educated at a preparatory school in Brighton before entering
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
in 1863, where
Edward Daniel Stone
Edward Daniel Stone (1832 – 17 September 1916) was an ordained deacon, classical scholar and a schoolmaster at Eton College.
Early life
He was the son of Lucia Catherine Stone (née Boswell) and Joseph Stone. His siblings were Walter George Bosw ...
was his private tutor. At Eton, Maitland was not prominent either academically or athletically, although a close school friend thought he would become "a kind of philosophic
Charles Lamb
Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764 ...
". He then matriculated at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
, in 1869 as a
commoner. A dislike of
classics
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
acquired at Eton initially led him to read mathematics, with little success. Then, inspired by
Henry Sidgwick
Henry Sidgwick (; 31 May 1838 – 28 August 1900) was an English utilitarian
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected i ...
, he switched to the relatively new moral sciences
tripos
At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...
in 1870, and took first-class honours in 1872, being bracketed senior with his friend
William Cunningham; he was elected a scholar of his college the same year. The following year, he took his degree and won the
Whewell
William Whewell ( ; 24 May 17946 March 1866) was an English polymath, scientist, Anglican priest, philosopher, theologian, and historian of science. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. In his time as a student there, he achieved dist ...
Scholarship in international law.
Popular among his contemporaries, Maitland was elected secretary, then president, of the
Cambridge Union
The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debati ...
.
He was also, like his father before him, a
Cambridge Apostle
The Cambridge Apostles (also known as ''Conversazione Society'') is an intellectual society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who became the first Bishop of Gibraltar.W. C. Lubenow, ''The ...
. A lover of exercise since his Eton days, he rowed for Trinity and ran for the university, winning a
blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...
for representing the university in three-mile races.
Maitland's mother had died in 1851, shortly after the birth of his younger sister. Then, both his father and grandfather died when he was still at school. From his grandfather he inherited a
manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
and some land in
Brookthorpe,
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
. The estate provided him with an income until the agricultural depression in the 1880s.
Career at the bar and early efforts, 1872–84
Career at the bar
After Cambridge, Maitland tried to gain a fellowship in philosophy at Trinity College in 1875 with a dissertation entitled ''A Historical Sketch of Liberty and Equality: As Ideals of English Political Philosophy from the Time of Hobbes to the Time of Coleridge'', but was beaten out by fellow Apostle
James Ward James Ward may refer to:
Military
*James Ward (Medal of Honor, 1864) (1833–?), American Civil War sailor
* James Ward (Medal of Honor, 1890) (1854–1901), American Indian Wars soldier
*James Allen Ward (1919–1941), New Zealand pilot and Vi ...
. Having joined
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...
as a student in 1872, he was
called to the bar
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
there in 1876, and became a competent
equity
Equity may refer to:
Finance, accounting and ownership
* Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them
** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business
** Home equity, the dif ...
lawyer and conveyancer.
Meanwhile, encouraged by Sidgwick, he began a book on property law, but abandoned it out of frustration at certain features of English property law; he expressed these sentiments in an anonymous article in the ''
Westminster Review
The ''Westminster Review'' was a quarterly British publication. Established in 1823 as the official organ of the Philosophical Radicals, it was published from 1824 to 1914. James Mill was one of the driving forces behind the liberal journal unt ...
'' in 1879, described as "a bold, eloquent, and humorous plea for a sweeping change in the English law of Real Property". It was followed by three further articles in the ''Law Magazine and Review'' between 1881 and 1883.
Meeting with Vinogradoff
In 1880, Maitland was introduced by
Frederick Pollock, who had been to Eton and Cambridge with him, to the Sunday Tramps, a walking club founded by
Leslie Stephen
Sir Leslie Stephen (28 November 1832 – 22 February 1904) was an English author, critic, historian, biographer, and mountaineer, and the father of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell.
Life
Sir Leslie Stephen came from a distinguished intellect ...
. Through Pollock, Maitland was introduced in 1884 to
Paul Vinogradoff
Sir Paul Gavrilovitch Vinogradoff (russian: Па́вел Гаври́лович Виногра́дов, transliterated: ''Pavel Gavrilovich Vinogradov''; 18 November 1854 Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe, (O.S.)19 D ...
, a Russian medievalist who was in England to study records lodged in the
Public Record Office
The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was ...
.
Maitland would later write that the day of his first meeting with Vinogradoff "determined the rest of my life". According to
H. A. L. Fisher, Maitland was so chagrined by the fact that a Russian knew more about English legal records than he did that he made his first visit to the PRO shortly thereafter, though
Geoffrey Elton
Sir Geoffrey Rudolph Elton (born Gottfried Rudolf Otto Ehrenberg; 17 August 1921 – 4 December 1994) was a German-born British political and constitutional historian, specialising in the Tudor period. He taught at Clare College, Cambridge, and w ...
points out that Maitland had already been working in the archives before he met Vinogradoff. The result of Maitland's initial work was ''Pleas of the Crown for the County of Gloucester'', a transcription of the 1221 Gloucestershire
eyre roll
Roll or Rolls may refer to:
Movement about the longitudinal axis
* Roll angle (or roll rotation), one of the 3 angular degrees of freedom of any stiff body (for example a vehicle), describing motion about the longitudinal axis
** Roll (aviation), ...
, which he published at his own expense in 1884 and dedicated to Vinogradoff.
Return to Cambridge and marriage, 1884–88
In 1884, Maitland was elected
Reader
A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to:
Computing and technology
* Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader
* Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application
* A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...
in English law at Cambridge, having failed to be elected to a readership at Oxford the previous year.
The post had been personally endowed by Sidgwick, to the tune of £300 a year for four years. In 1887, Maitland published, again at his own expense, an edition of
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 ...
's note book in three volumes, acting on a suggestion by Vinogradoff. He also published extensively on legal history in the ''
Law Quarterly Review
The ''Law Quarterly Review'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering common law throughout the world. It was established in 1885 and is published by Sweet & Maxwell. It is one of the leading law journals in the United Kingdom.
History
The ...
'', which was edited by Sidgwick.
On 20 July 1886, Maitland married
Florence Henrietta Fisher
Florence Henrietta Darwin, Lady Darwin (''née'' Fisher, previously Maitland; 31 January 18645 March 1920), was an English playwright.
Early life
Florence Henrietta Fisher was born in Kensington, London, to Herbert William Fisher and his wife M ...
in a village church in Hampshire. He had met her through Stephen: her aunt was Stephen's second wife. Fisher was the daughter of
Herbert William Fisher
Herbert William Fisher (30 July 1826 – 17 January 1903) was a British historian, best known for his book ''Considerations on the Origin of the American War'' (1865).
Life
He was born at Poulshot, Wiltshire, the son of Rev. William Fisher"The Pr ...
and the sister of
H. A. L. Fisher, a future Liberal minister and Maitland's biographer. They had two daughters: Ermengard (named after a woman whose name appeared in Bracton's note book) in 1887 and
Fredegond in 1889. By all account the marriage was a success, and the household a happy one.
Selden Society
In 1887, Maitland was among the founders of the
Selden Society
The Selden Society is a learned society and registered charity concerned with the study of English legal history. It functions primarily as a text publication society, but also undertakes other activities to promote scholarship within its spher ...
, established to promote the study of the history of English law, mainly through the publication of English legal manuscripts. The Society's first years were rocky: its treasurer, P. E. Dove, committed suicide in 1894, leaving behind a deficit of £1,000. Nevertheless, the Society published a steady stream of volumes under Maitland's direction as its first literary director. He personally edited eight volumes for the Society, contributed to more, and personally reviewed the proofs of every volume.
Downing Professor, 1888–1906
In 1888, Maitland was elected
Downing Professor of the Laws of England
The Downing Professorship of the Laws of England is one of the senior professorships in law at the University of Cambridge.
The chair was founded in 1800 as a bequest of Sir George Downing, the founder of Downing College, Cambridge. The profes ...
, becoming a fellow of
Downing College
Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...
. On 13 October 1888 he gave his inaugural lecture, "Why the History of English Law is Not Written". The post carried with it an official residence, and Maitland's family settled in happily. He held frequent musical gatherings, and kept a series of exotic pets, including a monkey, a meerkat, and a badger. The same year, he published ''Select pleas of the Crown, A.D. 1200–1225'', the first publication of the Selden Society.
In addition to teaching duties, Maitland served on numerous University and college bodies. He advocated for a number of reforms, including the abandonment of Greek as a compulsory entrance subject and the admission of women to degrees. In March 1897 he helped defeat a proposal for the creation of a Queen's University for women only as an alternative to granting them Cambridge degrees, making a speech which was long afterwards remembered.
Meanwhile, Maitland published extensively, making important contributions to the ''
Cambridge Modern History
''The Cambridge Modern History'' is a comprehensive modern history of the world, beginning with the 15th century Age of Discovery, published by the Cambridge University Press in England and also in the United States.
The first series, planned by ...
'', the ''
English Historical Review
''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, and ...
'', the ''
Law Quarterly Review
The ''Law Quarterly Review'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering common law throughout the world. It was established in 1885 and is published by Sweet & Maxwell. It is one of the leading law journals in the United Kingdom.
History
The ...
'', ''
Harvard Law Review'' and other publications. He delivered the
Ford Lectures
The Ford Lectures, technically the James Ford Lectures in British History, are an annual series of public lectures held at the University of Oxford on the subject of English or British history. They are usually devoted to a particular historical ...
in English history at Oxford in 1897 (later published as ''Township and Borough'') and the
Rede Lecture
The Sir Robert Rede's Lecturer is an annual appointment to give a public lecture, the Sir Robert Rede's Lecture (usually Rede Lecture) at the University of Cambridge. It is named for Sir Robert Rede, who was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in th ...
in 1901. His most important work, ''The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward I'', appeared in 1895. It was co-authored with his friend
Sir Frederick Pollock, though the latter wrote only the chapter on Anglo-Saxon law: "Chapter 1...was Pollock's work, and Maitland's reaction was never to let him write another." Popularly known as "Pollock and Maitland", ''The History of English Law'' has been described as "the best book on English legal history ever published in the English language."
In 1902 Maitland was offered the
Regius Professorship of Modern History at Cambridge by
Arthur Balfour
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the ...
in succession to
Lord Acton
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer. He is best remembered for the remark he w ...
, but declined.
In the same year he became one of the founding fellows of the
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
.
Final years and death
Maitland's health began to deteriorate in the 1890s: the exact nature of his illness remains unclear, but has been variously ascribed to
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
or to
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
. In 1898 he suffered from an attack of
pleurisy
Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity ( pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...
, and thereafter he wintered either in the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
or in
Madeira
)
, anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira")
, song_type = Regional anthem
, image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg
, map_alt=Location of Madeira
, map_caption=Location of Madeira
, subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
. In December 1906, he left Cambridge for the Canaries for the last time: during the trip, he contracted
influenza
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...
, which turned into
double pneumonia
Pneumonia can be classified in several ways, most commonly by where it was acquired (hospital versus community), but may also by the area of lung affected or by the causative organism. There is also a combined clinical classification, which combi ...
. He died at Las Palmas and was buried in the English Cemetery there.
Upon his death, the University of Oxford presented an address of condolence to Cambridge, described by
Sir Geoffrey Elton as an "unprecedented tribute". Such addresses were often presented to the royal family, but the only precedent in the case of Maitland was an address to the
University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
upon the death of
Theodor Mommsen
Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th cent ...
.
Posthumous publications by his students, editing their lecture notes based on his lectures, include ''The Constitutional History of England'', ''Equity'', and ''The Forms of Action at Common Law''. The latter publication has been repeatedly reprinted, and contains perhaps his most-quoted observation, which still appears in learned articles and superior court judgments:
"The
forms of action
The forms of action were the different procedures by which a legal claim could be made during much of the history of the English common law. Depending on the court, a plaintiff would purchase a writ in Chancery (or file a bill) which would set in ...
we have buried but still they rule us from their graves."
Personal life
Maitland married
Florence Henrietta Fisher
Florence Henrietta Darwin, Lady Darwin (''née'' Fisher, previously Maitland; 31 January 18645 March 1920), was an English playwright.
Early life
Florence Henrietta Fisher was born in Kensington, London, to Herbert William Fisher and his wife M ...
, daughter of the historian
Herbert William Fisher
Herbert William Fisher (30 July 1826 – 17 January 1903) was a British historian, best known for his book ''Considerations on the Origin of the American War'' (1865).
Life
He was born at Poulshot, Wiltshire, the son of Rev. William Fisher"The Pr ...
, in 1886
and they had two daughters, Ermengard (1887–1968) and
Fredegond (1889–1949); after Maitland's death his widow married Sir
Francis Darwin, a son of
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
.
Maitland was a moderate
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
in politics, sympathizing with the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
but striving to maintain objectivity in his scholarship. Florence Fisher's brother, the Liberal scholar and politician
H. A. L. Fisher, edited Maitland's papers and lectures on English constitutional history after his death.
Scholarship
Approach and style
His written style was elegant and lively. His
historical method
Historical method is the collection of techniques and guidelines that historians use to research and write histories of the past. Secondary sources, primary sources and material evidence such as that derived from archaeology may all be drawn ...
was distinguished by his thorough and sensitive use of historical sources, and by his determinedly historical perspective. Maitland taught his students, and all later historians, not to investigate the history of law purely or mostly by reference to the needs of the present, but rather to consider and seek to understand the past on its own terms.
''Memoranda de Parliamento''
In 1889, Maitland was invited by
Henry Maxwell Lyte
Sir Henry Churchill Maxwell Lyte (or Maxwell-Lyte) (29 May 1848 – 28 October 1940) was an English historian and archivist. He served as Deputy Keeper of the Public Records from 1886 to 1926, and was the author of numerous books including a hi ...
, the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records, to examine and edit the petitions presented to
Edward I's parliament. Maitland quickly determined that the task was too large to be completed by one man. However, by chance he discovered a hitherto unpublished
parliament roll from 1305, which he edited and published in 1883 as part of the
Rolls Series
''The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages'' ( la, Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores), widely known as the is a major collection of British and Irish historical materials and primary sources publish ...
. This formed the basis of what Elton described as his "most explosive contribution to English history".
At the time, it was generally believed that early English parliaments were, from the beginning, an assembly of the
estates of the realm
The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed an ...
who met to discuss affairs of state. This view had been laid down by
Stubbs, who had based his view on the 1295 "
Model Parliament
The Model Parliament is the term, attributed to Frederic William Maitland, used for the 1295 Parliament of England of King Edward I.
History
This assembly included members of the clergy and the aristocracy, as well as representatives from the v ...
". In his introduction to the 1305 roll, Maitland instead proposed that early English parliaments were judicial bodies which met mainly to receive petitions to address grievances. Though the revolutionary nature of Maitland's suggestion was realised only later, most historians have come to accept Maitland's view.
"Why the history of English Law is not written?"
On 13 October 1888, Maitland gave his inaugural lecture as Downing Professor of the Laws of England. Pointing out that "no attempt has ever been made to write the history of English law as a whole", he proposed two causes: the insularity of English law and the conflicting logics of the lawyer and of the historian.
Assessment
Maitland was held in high regard by his contemporaries.
Lord Acton
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer. He is best remembered for the remark he w ...
called him the ablest historian in England.
Maitland's reputation has stood high since his death. Speaking in 1980,
S. F. C. Milsom said that Maitland is "not just revered but loved" by historians, while in 1985,
Sir Geoffrey Elton wrote of Maitland as the "patron saint" of historians.
Beginning in the 1960s, scholars such as
S. F. C. Milsom and
Patrick Wormald
Charles Patrick Wormald (9 July 1947 – 29 September 2004) was a British historian born in Neston, Cheshire, son of historian Brian Wormald.
He attended Eton College as a King's Scholar. From 1966 to 1969 he read modern history at Balliol Colle ...
began to point out shortcomings in Maitland's views, which had by then become the orthodoxy, although the criticisms were inevitably coupled with sincere admiration for Maitland. The highly technical nature of Maitland's work, as well as the relative decline of legal history, made Maitland's views "lasting orthodoxies", as few historians had either the technical knowledge or the inclination to challenge them. Speaking on the centenary of the publication of ''Pollock and Maitland'', Milsom said that:
"if we go on as we are, we can look forward to our successors celebrating the bicentenary of 'Pollock and Maitland' as still the last word on the history of English law in its most crucial period. I wonder whether he would be pleased."
Honours and memorials
During his lifetime, Maitland received honorary doctorates from the universities of
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
(1891),
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 ...
(1899),
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
(1896),
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
and
Kracow. He was one of the founding fellows of the
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
in 1902, and was a corresponding member of the
Royal Prussian Academy of the Arts and of the
Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. He was also an honorary fellow of
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
, and an honorary
bencher
A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...
of
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...
. On the latter honour, Maitland wrote to Pollock that "one of the vacant bishoprics would have been less of a surprise". Just before his death Maitland received the Ames Medal from
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
, and at the time of the death he had been invited by Oxford to deliver the
Romanes Lecture
The Romanes Lecture is a prestigious free public lecture given annually at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, England.
The lecture series was founded by, and named after, the biologist George Romanes, and has been running since 1892. Over the year ...
.
After his death, the F. W. Maitland Memorial Fund was established at Cambridge in 1907 to promote research in legal history. It continues to award grants and studentships for that purpose. In 2000, a Maitland Legal History Room was established within the
Squire Law Library
The Faculty of Law, Cambridge is the law school of the University of Cambridge.
The study of law at the University of Cambridge began in the thirteenth century. The faculty sits the oldest law professorship in the English-speaking world, the R ...
of the
Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. The Maitland Historical Society of
Downing College, Cambridge, is also named in his honour.
At Oxford, a Maitland Library, begun with 300 books from Maitland's personal library, was established in 1908. Originally housed at
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 t ...
, it was eventually taken over by the Bodleian Library, and was maintained as a separate collection until 1933.
In 2001, a memorial stone for Maitland was unveiled in
Poet's Corner
Poets' Corner is the name traditionally given to a section of the South Transept of Westminster Abbey in the City of Westminster, London because of the high number of poets, playwrights, and writers buried and commemorated there.
The first poe ...
,
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
; he was the first professional historian to be so honoured.
The stone, cut by
Richard Kindersley
Richard Kindersley is a British typeface designer, stone letter carver and sculptor.
Career
Kindersley studied lettering and sculpture at Cambridge School of Art and in the workshop of his father David Kindersley
David Guy Barnabas Kind ...
, is inscribed with a quote from ''Doomsday Book and Beyond'': "By slow degrees the thoughts of our forefathers their common thoughts about common things will have become thinkable once more".
See also
*
Otto von Gierke
Otto Friedrich von Gierke, born Otto Friedrich Gierke (11 January 1841 – 10 October 1921) was a German legal scholar and historian. He is considered today as one of the most influential and important legal scholars of the 19th and 20th century. ...
*
Herbert Fisher
*
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 ...
*
Paul Vinogradoff
Sir Paul Gavrilovitch Vinogradoff (russian: Па́вел Гаври́лович Виногра́дов, transliterated: ''Pavel Gavrilovich Vinogradov''; 18 November 1854 Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe, (O.S.)19 D ...
*
Social law
Social law is a unified concept of law, which replaces the classical division of public law and private law. The term has both been used to mean fields of law that fall between "core" private and public subjects, such as corporate law, competition ...
*
Quia Emptores
''Quia Emptores'' is a statute passed by the Parliament of England in 1290 during the reign of Edward I that prevented tenants from alienating their lands to others by subinfeudation, instead requiring all tenants who wished to alienate the ...
,
Seisin Seisin (or seizin) denotes the legal possession of a feudal fiefdom or fee, that is to say an estate in land. It was used in the form of "the son and heir of X has obtained seisin of his inheritance", and thus is effectively a term concerned with co ...
and
Cestui que
Works
His principal works include:
["Professor F. W. Maitland." Times ondon, England22 December 1906: 6. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 29 May 2012]
''Pleas of the Crown for the County of Gloucester before the Abbot of Reading and his Fellows Justices Itinerant,''Macmillan & Co., 1884.
''Justice and Police,''Macmillan & Co., 1885.
''Bracton's Note-Book,''Vol. 2
C. J. Clay & Sons, 1887 eissued_by_Cambridge_University_Press,_2010.html" ;"title="Cambridge_University_Press.html" ;"title="eissued by Cambridge University Press">eissued by Cambridge University Press, 2010">Cambridge_University_Press.html" ;"title="eissued by Cambridge University Press">eissued by Cambridge University Press, 2010 )
''History of English Law before the Time of Edward I,''
with Sir Frederick Pollock, Cambridge University Press, 1899 [1st Pub. 1895; new ed. 1898].
''Domesday Book and Beyond,''
Cambridge University Press, 1897.
''Township and Borough: Being the Ford Lectures Delivered in the University of Oxford in the October Term of 1897,''
Cambridge University Press, 1898.
''Roman Canon Law in the Church of England,''
Methuen & Co., 1898.
''English Law and the Renaissance: the Rede Lecture for 1901,''
Cambridge University Press, 1901.
''Charters of the Borough of Cambridge,''
Cambridge University Press, 1901 (reissued by Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
, 2010. )
''Life and Letters of Leslie Stephen,''
Duckworth & Co., 1906.
''The Constitutional History of England,''
Cambridge University Press, 1909 st Pub. 1908
*
Equity. Also the Forms of Action at Common Law
', Edited by A.H. Chaytor and W.J. Whittaker, Cambridge University Press, 1910.
''The Collected Papers of Frederic William Maitland,''
H.A.L. Fisher, ed., Vol. I, Cambridge University Press, 1911.
''The Collected Papers of Frederic William Maitland,''
H.A.L. Fisher, ed., Vol. II, Cambridge University Press, 1911.
''The Collected Papers of Frederic William Maitland,''
H.A.L. Fisher, ed., Vol. III, Cambridge University Press, 1911.
''A Sketch of English Legal History,''
with Francis G. Montague, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1915.
* ''The Letters of Frederic William Maitland,'' Selden Society, 1965.
Essays
"The Relation of Punishment to Temptation,"''Mind,'' Vol. V, 1880.
"The Criminal Liability of the Hundred,"''The Law Magazine and Review,'' Vol. VII, 1882.
"Mr. Herbert Spencer's Theory of Society,"Part II, ''Mind,'' Vol. VIII, 1883.
"From the Old Law Courts to the New,"''The English Illustrated Magazine,'' Vol. I, 1883.
"The Seisin of Chattels,"''The Law Quarterly Review,'' Vol. I, 1885.
"The Deacon and the Jewess: or, Apostasy at Common Law,"''The Law Quarterly Review,'' Vol. II, 1886.
"The Mystery of Seisin,"''The Law Quarterly Review,'' Vol. II, 1886.
"The Suitors of the County Court,"''The English Historical Review,'' Vol. III, 1888.
"The Beatitude of Seisin,"Part II, ''The Law Quarterly Review,'' Vol. IV, 1888.
"The Surnames of English Villages" ''The Archaeological Review'', Vol. IV, No. 4, 1889.
"The Introduction of English Law into Ireland,"''The English Historical Review'', Vol. IV, 1889.
"The Materials for English Legal History,"Part II, ''Political Science Quarterly,'' Vol. IV, 1889.
"The 'Praerogativa Regis',"''The English Historical Review,'' Vol. VI, 1891.
"Henry II and the Criminous Clerks,"''The English Historical Review,'' Vol. VII, 1892.
"The 'Quatripartitus',"''The Law Quarterly Review,'' Vol. VIII, 1892.
"The History of Cambridgeshire Manor,"''The English Historical Review,'' Vol. IX, No. 35, July 1894.
"The Origin of the Borough,"''The English Historical Review,'' Vol. IX, 1896.
"Wyclif on English and Roman Law,"''The Law Quarterly Review,'' Vol. XII, 1896.
"'Execrabilis' in the Common Pleas,"''The Law Quarterly Review,'' Vol. XII, 1896.
"Canon Law in England,"''The English Historical Review,'' Vol. XII, 1897.
*
"The Corporation Sole," ''The Law Quarterly Review,'' Vol. XVI, 1900, pp. 335–354
*
"The Crown as Corporation," ''The Law Quarterly Review,'' Vol. XVII, 1901, pp. 131–146
"Prologue to a History of English Law."In: ''Select Essays in Anglo-American Legal History,'' Vol. I. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1907.
"Materials For the History of English Law."In: ''Select Essays in Anglo-American Legal History,'' Vol. II. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1908.
"The History of the Register of Original Writs."In: ''Select Essays in Anglo-American Legal History,'' Vol. II. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1908.
Other
"Glanville, Ranulf de."In: ''Dictionary of National Biography,'' Vol. XXI, 1890.
"Court Rolls, Manorial Accounts and Extents."In: ''Dictionary of Political Economy,'' Vol. I, 1894.
''Essays on the Teaching of History'' William Arthur Jobson Archbold, ed., with an introduction by F.W. Maitland, Cambridge University Press, 1901.
*
*
Notes
References
* Bell, Henry Esmond (1965). ''Maitland: A Critical Examination and Assessment.'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
*
Cameron, James R. (1961). ''Frederic William Maitland and the History of English Law''. University of Oklahoma Press
ep. by Greenwood Press, 1977; Lawbook Exchange, 2001
*
Elton, G. R. (1985). ''F.W. Maitland.'' Yale University Press.
*
Fifoot, C. H. S. (1971). ''Frederic William Maitland: A Life.'' Harvard University Press, 1971
nly full-length biography in print. Written by an academic lawyer in the field, but covering both the personal and professional life of its subject
*
Fisher, H. A.L. (1910)
''F. W. Maitland.''Cambridge University Press.
* Heatley, D. P. (1913)
"Frederic William Maitland."In: ''Studies in British History and Politics.'' London: Smith, Elder & Co., pp. 138–163.
*
Hollond, Henry Arthur (1953). ''Frederic William Maitland, 1850–1906: A Memorial Address''. London: Quaritch.
*
Lapsley, Gaillard Thomas (1907)
"Frederic William Maitland,"''
The Green Bag,'' Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 205–213.
*
Milsom, Stroud Francis Charles (1980). ''F. W. Maitland: Lecture on a Mastermind.'' Oxford University Press.
* Milsom, Stroud Francis Charles (2001). "Maitland," ''Cambridge Law Journal,'' Vol. 60, No. 2, pp. 265–270.
* Reynell, Mrs. (1951)
"Frederic William Maitland,"''The Cambridge Law Journal,'' Vol. XI, No. 1, pp. 67–73
rs. Reynell was Maitland's eldest sister
*
Schuyler, Robert Livingston (1952). "The Historical Spirit Incarnate: Frederic William Maitland," ''The American Historical Review,'' Vol. 57, No. 2, pp. 303–322.
*
Schuyler, Robert Livingston (1960). Introduction to ''Frederic William Maitland: Historian,'' University of California Press.
*
Smith, A. L. (1908)
''F. W. Maitland.''Oxford: Clarendon Press.
* Smith, Munro & J. T. Shotwell (1907)
"Frederic William Maitland,"''Political Science Quarterly,'' Vol. 22, pp. 282–296.
*
Pollock, Sir Frederick ''et al.'' (1907)
"In Memoriam: Frederic W. Maitland,"''The Law Quarterly Review,'' Vol. 23, pp. 137–150.
*
Vinogradoff, Paul (1907)
"Frederic William Maitland,"''English Historical Review,'' Vol. 22, No. 86, pp. 280–289.
*
Wormald, Patrick (1998). "Frederic William Maitland and the Earliest English Law," ''Law and History Review,'' Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 1–25.
External links
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Maitland, Frederick William a
McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Maitland, Frederic William
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