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The Regius Chair of Civil Law, founded in the 1540s, is one of the oldest
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...
ships at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
.


Foundation

The Regius Chair of Civil Law at Oxford was founded by
King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
, who established five such
Regius Professor A Regius Professor is a university professor who has, or originally had, royal patronage or appointment. They are a unique feature of academia in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The first Regius Professorship was in the field of medicine, and ...
ships in the University, the others being the chairs of
Divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...
,
Physic Physic may refer to: * The study or practice of medicine * A substance administered as medicine, or the medicinal plant from which it is extracted: ** ''Gillenia stipulata ''Gillenia stipulata'', or American ipecac, is an herbacious perennial ...
(Old English for
Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
),
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and
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
.New Regius Professor of Civil Law Appointed
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
news release dated 1 December 2005 online at ox.ac.uk (accessed 23 February 2008)
The
stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work p ...
attached to the position was then forty pounds a year. Henry VIII put an end to the teaching 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 t ...
at both
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 ...
and
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 ...
.Law at Pembroke College
online at pmb.ox.ac.uk (accessed 23 February 2008)
Under statutes of 1549, the Regius Professor of Civil Law was to lecture four times a week between the hours of eight and nine in the morning on the
Pandects The ''Digest'', also known as the Pandects ( la, Digesta seu Pandectae, adapted from grc, πανδέκτης , "all-containing"), is a name given to a compendium or digest of juristic writings on Roman law compiled by order of the Byzantine ...
, on the
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, or on the ecclesiastical laws of
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. The requirement to give four lectures a week was repeated in the statutes of 1564 and of 1576. The professor was also to moderate at disputations in law. The exact date of the chair's foundation is uncertain. Some sources say that John Story, the first professor, was appointed in about 1541. No foundation document survives, but in 1544
Robert Weston Robert Weston (c.1515 – 20 May 1573) was an English civil lawyer, who was Dean of the Arches and Lord Chancellor of Ireland in the time of Queen Elizabeth. Life Robert Weston was the seventh son of John Weston (c. 1470 - c. 1550), a tradesm ...
was recorded as acting as Story's deputy. The holder of the Regius Professorship is still chosen by
The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...
and is still appointed to teach
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 J ...
, its principles and history, and some other branches of the law.


First Professor

It is uncertain when the first Regius Professor, the
Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...
John Story, was first appointed. ''The History of the University of Oxford'' says that it was by a signed bill, c. 1541, adding that, together with Robert Weston, Story was reappointed for life by
letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...
dated 26 February 1546. Payments to Story as professor of Civil Law are found in the accounts of the Treasurer of the
Court of Augmentations Thomas Cromwell established the Court of Augmentations, also called Augmentation Court or simply The Augmentation in 1536, during the reign of King Henry VIII of England. It operated alongside three lesser courts (those of General Surveyors (1540 ...
for the periods
Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, a ...
1546 to Michaelmas 1550, part of 1553, and 1556–1557, and for fees and annuities in issues of the
Exchequer In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's '' current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government revenu ...
for 1553–1557.
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 ...
: PRO E 323/3, rot. 91, 4, rot 38/39, 5, rot 35/37, 6, rot. 22/24, E 405/499, 507, fo. 75v, 510
Story had a tempestuous career. Elected to parliament in 1547, in 1548 he opposed the anti-Roman Catholic laws of
King Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...
, was imprisoned, and on release fled to the
Seventeen Provinces The Seventeen Provinces were the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 16th century. They roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e., what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of the French departments of Nord (F ...
. The reign of the Roman Catholic Queen Mary from July 1553 to November 1558 brought Story back into public life. He became a
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 ...
again, and after Mary's death opposed the
Act of Supremacy The Acts of Supremacy are two acts passed by the Parliament of England in the 16th century that established the English monarchs as the head of the Church of England; two similar laws were passed by the Parliament of Ireland establishing the En ...
of 1559. He was again imprisoned, escaped, was recaptured, and fled again to the Low Countries, where he became a subject of
Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
. He was
kidnap In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...
ped by agents of
Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...
, imprisoned in the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...
, where he was
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...
d, and finally in 1571 was
hanged, drawn and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the reign of King Henry III ...
.JOHN STOREY
online at saints.sqpn.com (accessed 23 February 2008)
Story was
beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their n ...
by
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...
in 1886.


Period of decline

Although prestigious, the Regius Chair has not always been effective for teaching purposes. In 1846, a
select committee Select committee may refer to: *Select committee (parliamentary system) A select committee is a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues originating in the Westminster system o ...
of the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
began to inquire into the state of legal education in the United Kingdom, and its report later the same year showed the emptiness of the title of Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford at that time. Dr Joseph Phillimore, who had held the chair since 1809 and who continued to hold it until his death in 1855 at the age of eighty, admitted in a series of evasive replies to the select committee that his subject had not been taught at Oxford for almost a hundred years. Dr Philip Bliss, Registrar of the University, revealed that the university had no examinations in any "legal science". Although the degree of
Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cam ...
was still awarded, the "disputations" which led to such an award were an empty formality.Aston, T. H. (ed.), ''The History of the University of Oxford, Volume VII, Part 2'' (Oxford, 1984
p. 395
online at books.google.com (accessed 23 February 2008)
One of Phillimore's 18th century predecessors, Robert Vansittart, a noted
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
and
rake Rake may refer to: * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (theatre), the artificial slope of a theatre stage Science and technology * Rake receiver, a radio receiver * Rake (geology), the angle between a feature on a ...
, was appointed Regius Professor in 1767 and held the chair until his death in 1789. He published antiquarian works, was a close acquaintance of
Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709  – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
,
William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like ...
and
Paul Whitehead Paul Whitehead is a British painter and graphic artist known for his surrealistic album covers for artists on the Charisma Records label in the 1970s, such as Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator. __TOC__ Life and work England: Liberty Records ...
, and was a participant in the debauchery of the Hellfire Club.Carlyle, E. I., & Brown, Robert, ''Vansittart, Robert (1728–1789)'' in ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Oxford University Press, 2004
Vansittart's successor,
Thomas Francis Wenman The Honourable Thomas Francis Wenman FRS (18 November 1745 – 8 April 1796) was a British professor, natural historian, and antiquarian. Wenman was the second son of Philip Wenman, 6th Viscount Wenman and his wife Sophia, daughter and co-hei ...
(1745–1796), Regius Professor from 1789 until his death, is described in the ''
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'' as "one of the few students of natural history at Oxford" and was drowned in the
River Cherwell The River Cherwell ( or ) is a tributary of the River Thames in central England. It rises near Hellidon, Northamptonshire and flows southwards for to meet the Thames at Oxford in Oxfordshire. The river gives its name to the Cherwell local g ...
on 8 April 1796, while collecting
botanical Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
specimens.


Modern period

After the death of Phillimore in 1855, the situation improved somewhat. Although the next professor, Sir Travers Twiss, held degrees in
Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and Literae Humaniores, he came to the post directly from three years as professor of
international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
at King's College,
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, where the teaching of law was taken more seriously than at Oxford. His international reputation led to Leopold II, king of the Belgians asking him to draft the constitution of the
Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leop ...
. Twiss was succeeded in 1870 by
James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce, (10 May 1838 – 22 January 1922), was a British academic, jurist, historian, and Liberal politician. According to Keoth Robbins, he was a widely-traveled authority on law, government, and history whose expe ...
, a distinguished
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 st ...
and Liberal politician who for a period combined the Regius chair of civil law with holding office as
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is a vacant junior position in the British government, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affai ...
and who resigned the chair only in 1893, a year after joining
William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-con ...
's
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
. In 1955, the distinguished
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
academic lawyer David Daube (1909–1999), a native of
Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...
, became the first foreign-born Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford since the 17th century. He was later a professor-in-residence at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...
. Daube was succeeded in 1971 by
Tony Honoré Anthony Maurice Honoré, (30 March 1921 – 26 February 2019) was a British lawyer and jurist, known for his work on ownership, causation and Roman law.John Gardne''Tony Honoré as Teacher and Mentor: A Personal Memoir''; read 1 April 2014. Bio ...
(born 1921), a
jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the U ...
known for his work on
ownership Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...
, causation and
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 J ...
, who remained in post until 1988. Although born in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, he was brought up in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
, fought in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
and was severely wounded at the
First Battle of El Alamein The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War, fought in Egypt between Axis (German and Italian) forces of the Panzer Army Africa—which included the under Field Marsha ...
. His contributions to legal philosophy include sixteen books and more than a hundred articles. In 1988, Peter Birks was appointed, holding office until his death in 2004. He was a specialist on the law of
Restitution The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery, in which a court orders the defendant to ''give up'' their gains to the claimant. It should be contrasted with the law of compensation, the law of loss-based recovery, in which a court ...
.In Memoriam Peter Birks (1941–2004)
online at ouclf.iuscomp.org (accessed 23 February 2008)
After a vacancy of more than a year, Boudewijn Sirks was appointed in December 2005 and took up the post in 2006, his previous career having been in teaching
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
and law at the universities of
Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration w ...
,
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
,
Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...
, and
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
. In 2015, Sirks was succeeded by
Wolfgang Ernst Wolfgang Hermann Wernher Ernst (born 1956 in Bonn, Germany) is a German lawyer and Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford. Life Ernst studied from 1976 to 1980 at the University of Bonn and the Goethe University Frankfurt ...
, whose research focuses on Roman law.


List of Regius Professors of Civil Law

*–1557: John Story (for much of that time jointly with Robert Weston and William Aubrey) *1546–1553:
Robert Weston Robert Weston (c.1515 – 20 May 1573) was an English civil lawyer, who was Dean of the Arches and Lord Chancellor of Ireland in the time of Queen Elizabeth. Life Robert Weston was the seventh son of John Weston (c. 1470 - c. 1550), a tradesm ...
(jointly with John Story) *1553–1559:
William Aubrey William Aubrey (c. 1529 – 25 June 1595) was Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford from 1553 to 1559, and was one of the founding Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford. He was also a Member of Parliament for various Welsh an ...
(for some of that period jointly with John Story) *1559–1566: John GriffithAston, T. H. (ed.), ''The History of the University of Oxford, Volume III: The Collegiate University'', pp. 358–360 *1566–1577:
Robert Lougher Robert Lougher (died 1585) was a Welsh clergyman, lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1572. He was twice Principal of New Inn Hall, Oxford. Life and career Lougher was born in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales, the youngest son o ...
*1577–1586:
Griffith Lloyd Griffith Lloyd (died 1586) was Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, from 1572 to 1586. He was also Regius Professor of Civil Law from 1577 to his death. He was originally from Lampeter, Wales where the Lloyds of Maesyfelin were a well-respected f ...
*1587–1608:
Alberico Gentili Alberico Gentili (14 January 155219 June 1608) was an Italian-English jurist, a tutor of Queen Elizabeth I, and a standing advocate to the Spanish Embassy in London, who served as the Regius professor of civil law at the University of Oxfor ...
*1611–1620:
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 ...
*1620–1661: Richard Zouch *1661–1672: Sir Giles Sweit *1672–1712: Thomas Bouchier(1766) ''A pocket companion for Oxford or Guide through the University''; Blenheim, Ditchley, and Stow; auf Google Books; p. 106. *1712–1736: James Bouchier *1736–1752: Henry Brooke *1753–1767: Herbert Jenner *1767–1789: Robert Vansittart *1789–1796:
Thomas Francis Wenman The Honourable Thomas Francis Wenman FRS (18 November 1745 – 8 April 1796) was a British professor, natural historian, and antiquarian. Wenman was the second son of Philip Wenman, 6th Viscount Wenman and his wife Sophia, daughter and co-hei ...
*1796–1809:
French Laurence French Laurence (3 April 1757 – 27 February 1809) was an English jurist and man of letters, a close associate of Edmund Burke whose literary executor he became. Life He was the eldest son of Richard Laurence, watchmaker, of Bath, Somerset by ...
*1809–1855:
Joseph Phillimore Joseph Phillimore (1775–1855) was an English civil lawyer and politician, Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford from 1809. Life The eldest son of Joseph Phillimore, vicar of Orton on the Hill, Leicestershire, by Mary, daughter of John Mac ...
(1775–1855) *1855–1870: Sir Travers Twiss *1870–1893:
James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce, (10 May 1838 – 22 January 1922), was a British academic, jurist, historian, and Liberal politician. According to Keoth Robbins, he was a widely-traveled authority on law, government, and history whose expe ...
*1893–1919: Henry Goudy, author of the article on "
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 J ...
" in vol. 23 of the 11th ed. of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (1911) *1919–1948:
Francis de Zulueta Francis de Zulueta, FBA (born Francisco Maria José de Zulueta, 12 September 1878 – 16 January 1958) was the Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford from 1919 until 1948. Biography The son of Pedro Juan de Zulueta, Count of ...
*1948–1954: Herbert Felix Jolowicz *1955–1970: David Daube *1971–1988:
Tony Honoré Anthony Maurice Honoré, (30 March 1921 – 26 February 2019) was a British lawyer and jurist, known for his work on ownership, causation and Roman law.John Gardne''Tony Honoré as Teacher and Mentor: A Personal Memoir''; read 1 April 2014. Bio ...
*1989–2004: Peter Birks *July 2004 – February 2006: vacant *2006–2014: Boudewijn Sirks *From 1 October 2015:
Wolfgang Ernst Wolfgang Hermann Wernher Ernst (born 1956 in Bonn, Germany) is a German lawyer and Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford. Life Ernst studied from 1976 to 1980 at the University of Bonn and the Goethe University Frankfurt ...


See also

* List of Professorships at the University of Oxford *
Regius Professor of Civil Law (Cambridge) The Regius Professorship of Civil Law is one of the oldest and most prestigious of the professorships at the University of Cambridge. The chair was founded by Henry VIII in 1540 with a stipend of £40 per year, and the holder is still chosen by ...


References


The History of the University of Oxford, Volume III: The Collegiate University
pp. 358–361 {{DEFAULTSORT:Regius Professor of Civil Law Civil Law 1541 establishments in England Civil Law Oxford Professorships in law English civil law Lists of people associated with the University of Oxford