The Selden Society is a

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...

and

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

concerned with the study of

English legal history English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, be ...

. It functions primarily as a

text publication society A text publication society is a learned society which publishes (either as its sole function, or as a principal function) scholarly editions of old works of historical or literary interest, or archival documents. In addition to full texts, a text p ...

, but also undertakes other activities to promote scholarship within its sphere of interest. It is the only learned society wholly devoted to the topic of English legal history. The society takes its name from the eminent English jurist and legal and constitutional scholar,

John Selden John Selden (16 December 1584 – 30 November 1654) was an English jurist, a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law. He was known as a polymath; John Milton hailed Selden in 1644 as "the chief of learned ...

(1584–1654).

History and activities

The society was founded in 1887 by a group which included F. W. Maitland, who served as its first literary editor and personally edited eight volumes for the Society. The Society's first years were rocky: its treasurer, P. E. Dove, committed suicide in 1894, leaving behind a deficit of £1,000. Its principal activity is publishing historical records of

English law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, be ...

. Since its inception, a volume of significant texts has been published every year. It also publishes a supplementary series. The current president is Nicholas Le Poidevin. The current literary director is Neil Jones, who succeeded

Sir John Baker John Baker or Jon Baker may refer to: Military figures *John Baker (American Revolutionary War) (1731–1787), American Revolutionary War hero, for whom Baker County, Georgia was named *John Baker (RAF officer) (1897–1978), British air marshal ...

in this role in 2011. The secretary is

Michael Lobban Michael John Warrender Lobban, FBA (born 22 October 1962) is a South African legal historian. He has been Professor of Legal History at the London School of Economics since 2013, having previously been Professor of Legal History at Queen Mary Univ ...

, Professor of Legal History at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. The society meets for an annual general meeting every year, and other meetings are held in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It often collaborates with the Ames Foundation at

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 ...

. Membership of the society is open to anyone upon payment of a fee, and is primarily composed of educational institutions and interested individuals (mostly legal historians and lawyers).

Publications

Early volumes published by the society include: * * * ::This volume made use of

record type Record type is a family of typefaces designed to allow medieval manuscripts (specifically those from England) to be published as near-facsimiles of the originals. The typefaces include many special characters intended to replicate the various s ...

, in an attempt to present the text in a near

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, Old master print, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from ...

of the original manuscript sources. F. W. Maitland expressed reservations about the experiment, and it was not repeated. * * Volumes published in recent years include: * * * * * * * * * * * (2 vols)

Yale Prize

The David Yale Prize is awarded every other year to a young scholar (who has been engaged in research for no more than about 10 years) for an outstanding contribution to the laws and legal institutions of England and Wales. The award was set up in 1999 in honour of

David Yale David Eryl Corbet Yale, , Hon. QC (31 March 1928 – 26 June 2021) was a scholar in the history of English law. He became Queen's Counsel at the same time as Nelson Mandela, and became president of the Selden Society. He was also a reader in En ...

, FBA, Hon.

Q.C. QC may refer to: * Queen's Counsel, the title of a King's Counsel, a type of lawyer in Commonwealth countries, during the reign of a queen * Quality control, the process of meeting products and services to consumer expectations Places * Quebec, ...

, former President of the Selden Society. The prize has been awarded to: *1999 Thomas P. Gallanis for his article "The Rise of Modern Evidence Law" *2001 Daniel Klerman for his article "Settlement and the Decline of Private Prosecution in Thirteenth-Century England" *2003 Neil Jones for his article "The Use Upon a Use in Equity Revisited" *2007 Sara Elin Roberts for her book ''The Legal Triads of Medieval Wales'' (2007) *2013 Ian Williams *2017 Kenneth F. Duggan for his article "The Hue and Cry in Thirteenth-Century England" and Sean Bottomley for his book ''The English Patent System during the Industrial Revolution, 1700–1852'' (2014) (joint winners)

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* * {{authority control 1887 establishments in England Legal history of England Learned societies of the United Kingdom History organisations based in London Organizations established in 1887 Text publication societies Queen Mary University of London