Skip to main content. University of Minnesota. Home page.

One Stop | Directories | Search U of M

 
Print this Page Law School: Login | Public Web | Inside.Law | Intranet 
    Law Library Home   Law Students   Law Faculty & Staff   Law Alumni   U of M-TC Community   Unaffiliated Users  
 
Law Logo: return to Law School home page
Library Logo: return to Library home page Legal History Research Resources

Last Update 6/25/09.  Direct feedback on this page to lawlib@umn.edu.

Finding Books

CATALOGS

  • MNCAT http://mncat.lib.umn.edu. Catalog of the U of MN Libraries.
    Suggested search strategy:
    Keyword Search to Subject Search: try a “Title Keyword” or “General Keyword” search to find relevant titles. Click on the subject heading of a relevant record to search for other titles on the same subject.
    Sample subject headings:
    law united states history
    law europe history
    law united kingdom history
    law, ancient – [subdivision, e.g. ]
    law, anglo-saxon – [subdivision, e.g. history or sources]
  • WorldCat http://www.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wcat.cgi.
    Catalog of holdings of thousands of libraries worldwide.

  • Google Books http://books.google.com.
    Each book includes an 'About this book' page with basic bibliographic data like title, author, publication date, length and subject. For some books you may also see additional information like key terms and phrases, references to the book from scholarly publications or other books, chapter titles and a list of related books. For every book, you'll see links directing you to bookstores where you can buy the book and libraries where you can borrow it. Check for the book in MNCAT and WorldCat.

  • Index to Legal Periodicals & Books http://ezproxy.law.umn.edu/login?url=http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?custid=0000053689&prod=ILPIN.
    Primarily a periodicals index but also indexes books. Also a good source for locating book reviews. Coverage includes 800+ legal periodicals, law reviews, bar association journals, university publications, yearbooks, institutes, government publications and books, (dates of coverage vary but begin no earlier than 1993 for books and 1980 for periodicals).

  • Nineteenth Century Short-Title Catalogue
    Hardcopy & CD-ROM index resource available at Wilson Library (call no. Reference Quarto Z2001.N65 1984 and Reference CD-ROM Z2001.N65x 1996) a catalog of all books published in English 1801-1870. Web version not available at U of MN.

ELECTRONIC BOOKS (Includes treatises and other texts and documents)

  • Avalon Project at the Yale Law School http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm.
    Digital documents dating from pre-18th century through the 20th century, relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government.

  • Early American Imprints http://www.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/eaisi.cgi.
    Collection of digitized text and images from 17th and 18th century America. Users may search and browse various types of documents on topics related to government, law, crime, history, politics, health, philosophy, labor, economics and trade, languages, military, literature, law and crime, people, science, theology, and society, customs, and manners.

  • Early English Books Online (EBBO) http://eebo.chadwyck.com/home.
    The works contained in EBBO include a broad scope of subject areas. Official dates of coverage are 1473-1700, corresponding to the dates covered in the Pollard & Redgrave and Wing short title catalogues, and the Thomason Tract and Tract Supplement collections. However, there are a few hundred items in EEBO that were printed after 1700. Most of these are later reproductions or reprints of originals.

  • Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) http://www.lib.umn.edu/get/ecco.
    ECCO is the digital version of the comprehensive microfilm collection, The Eighteenth Century. When complete, ECCO will contain the full-text of 138,000 English-language titles and editions published between 1701 and 1800 printed in the U.K. and the Americas. See the ECCO product description for more information on the legal titles available from ECCO.

  • HeinOnline – Legal Classics Library http://ej.lib.umn.edu/?url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/Index?collection=beal.
    A mixed collection of mostly U.S. and British legal publications, treatises and other documents in full-text and searchable. “In addition to many "classics", this collection includes rare items that are found in only a handful of libraries around the world. The collection focuses on constitutional law, political science, and other classic topics.”

  • LLMC Digital LLMC Digital http://www.lib.umn.edu/get/15986.
    A digital collection of federal executive, legislative and judicial branch documents. Also includes select state, foreign, international materials and special collections on military law and British Empire studies. A variety of search and browsing options are provided. The web site and collection are under development. Check the web site for detailed information on current holdings.

  • The Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises 1800 – 1926 http://www.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/mml.cgi.
    Full-text digital images of every page of the 22,000 legal treatises on U.S. and British law published from 1800 through 1926. Browse feature (by author or title) and full-text search engine provided.

  • The Making of Modern Law: Trials 1600 - 1926 http://www.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/mm_/trials.
    Provides full-text digital images of every page of the thousands of books and pamphlets in the collection. In addition to works pertaining to English-speaking jurisdictions, e.g. U.S., Britain, Ireland and Canada, English-language titles about trials in other jurisdictions such as France are included. Books encompassing multiple trials are included as well as books about a single trial. Books about general trial procedures, legal doctrines and advocacy methods are excluded, as are books about crimes not resulting in trials. Browse feature (by author or title) and full-text search engine provided.

  • Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History 
    Accessible to all users within the Law Library.  Access to UMN Law faculty & students throughout Mondale Hall and remote access via proxy login.  From the publisher's description:  "Provides both historical and contemporary comparisons of the world legal systems.  Covers legal history from ancient to modern times. Approximately 1,000 articles explore the traditions of Ancient Greek Law, Ancient Roman Law, Medieval Roman Law, Chinese Law, English Common Law, Islamic Law, United States Law, and the laws of such other regions as Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. Major categories of law explained in detail include private law (contract, tort, civil procedure), public law (statutory, criminal, etc.), and higher or constitutional law."

Finding Periodical Articles

LAW REVIEWS & LAW JOURNALS (Indexes & Databases)

  • HeinOnline – Law Journal Library http://heinonline.org/HOL/Index?collection=journals.
    Full-text articles from more than 1,100 law and law- related periodicals. Coverage is from the first issue published for all periodicals and goes through the most current issue allowed, based on contracts with publishers. Searching can be done by title or author name, as well as full-text searching of the collection or select periodicals.

  • Index to Periodical Articles Related to Law
    This index is one of the titles in the HeinOnline - Law Journals Library. It indexes non-legal periodicals and includes articles not indexed in Index to Legal Periodicals or LegalTrac (below). Coverage begins in 1958.  The index ceased publication in 2007 with vol. 49.

  • Index to Legal Periodicals & Books http://ezproxy.law.umn.edu/login?url=http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?custid=0000053689&prod=ILPIN. 
    Indexes over 1,000 legal periodicals, law reviews, bar association journals, university publications, yearbooks, institutes and government publications. Full-text is available for over 300 journals, starting in 1994.  Jurisdictions covered include the U.S., Puerto Rico, Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The database also indexes some 1,400 monographs per year. Dates of coverage vary but begin no earlier than 1980 for periodicals and 1993 for books.

  • Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective: 1908-1981 http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?custid=0000053689&prod=RILP.
    A bibliographic database consisting of citations from the print editions of Index to Legal Periodicals published between 1918-1981. Coverage includes over 750 legal periodicals (law reviews, bar association journals, university publications, yearbooks, institutes and government publications) published in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

  • LegalTrac https://www.lib.umn.edu/log.phtml?id=3316&url=http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/umn_wilson?db=LT. 
    Indexes approximately 875 law reviews, law journals, bar journals and legal newspapers (1980-Present). LegalTrac also contains law-related articles from over 1,000 additional business and general interest titles.  Coverage includes foreign legal periodicals from the U.K., Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

  • Index to Legal Periodical Literature 1786-1922 http://www.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/poole.cgi.
    This database is part of the 19th Century Masterfile, Series I database.  Also known as the, "Jones and Chipman's Index to Legal Periodical Literature" contains 98,254 citations from 590 general periodical titles, 236 legal periodical titles and 67 Law Report Titles, covering 11,000 volumes. Select “Index to Legal Periodical Literature (1786-1921)” from the “I. Multi-Title Periodical Indexes” pull-down menu.

  • JSTOR http://www.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/jstor.cgi.
    Full text academic journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, including 57 law journals. JSTOR provides complete journal backruns from the date of initial publication up to a date defined, on a publisher by publisher basis, by a "moving wall".

    LexisNexis (U of MN Law faculty, students & staff access only)
    Full-text articles database. Coverage of legal periodicals (academic law reviews/journals, bar journals, newsletters) varies by title. Search for articles in various combinations: by periodical title or various combinations of titles.

  • LexisNexis Academic http://www.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/lex2.cgi.
    Select the “Sources” tab and then the “Law Reviews & Journals” tab. or “Legal News” tab. Full-text articles database. Coverage of legal periodicals (academic law reviews/journals, bar journals, newsletters) varies by title. Search for articles in various combinations: by periodical title or various combinations of titles.

  • Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals http://www.lib.umn.edu/get/iflp.
    Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals "…covers all forms of foreign (non-Anglo-American) law. This includes comparative law and legal systems, such as Islamic law; socialist law; public and private international law; and transnational commercial law. The data is not limited by country of publication, but rather type of publication. Thus, while publications concerning British and American law are not included, British and American publications concerning foreign law are included. The types of documents covered include journal articles, congress reports, essay collections, yearbooks, and book reviews. The database encompasses all languages. Coverage starts with 1985."

  • Minnesota Legal Periodical Index (Web-MLPI) http://www.lawmoose.com/index.cfm?Action=MLPI.ShowArticleFinder.
    Web version of the print index published by the Minnesota State Law Library. Covers Minnesota law school, bar association and commercial publications as early as 1984. Links to full-text articles when available on the web. A collaborative effort of the Minnesota State Law Library and Pritchard Law Webs, publisher of LawMoose!

  • Westlaw (U of MN Law faculty, students & staff access only)
    Full-text articles database. Coverage of legal periodicals (academic law reviews/journals, bar journals, newsletters) varies by title. Search for articles in various combinations: by periodical title or various combinations of titles.

LEGAL NEWSPAPERS (Indexes & Databases)

GENERAL NEWSPAPER ARTICLES (Indexes & Full-Text Databases)


Legal History-Related Databases & Web Sites

  • African Americans in the Law Collection http://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/specialcollections/aalsc/ (Thurgood Marshall Law Library, Univ. of Maryland School of Law)
    From the web site description: "The African Americans in the Law Special Collection seeks to document the development and growth of the African American legal community in Maryland from 1877 to date . . . Major collections include the Legal Papers of Dallas Nicholas and William Gosnell, The Papers of the NAACP, The Papers of William H. Hastie, the Baltimore Afro American newspaper on microfilm, the papers of Baltimore activist Lena Lee, the personal and professional papers of faculty member Larry Gibson, and The Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Collection."

  • American Memory Project http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
    "American Memory is a gateway to the Library of Congress’s vast resources of digitized American historical materials. Comprising more than 9 million items that document U.S. history and culture, American Memory is organized into more than 100 thematic collections based on their original format, their subject matter, or who first created, assembled, or donated them to the Library."  Of particular interest to legal history researcher are the Government, Law Collections (24 collections in all).

  • Avalon Project at Yale Law School : Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy http://avalon.law.yale.edu/default.asp
    Digitized documents from pre-18th Century to the 21st century relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government.

  • Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive http://www.lib.usm.edu/~spcol/crda/ (Univ. of Southern Mississippi)
    A “…fully searchable database of digitized versions of rare and unique library and archival resources (oral histories, documents and photographs) on race relations in Mississippi.”

  • Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse http://clearinghouse.wustl.edu/ (Washington Univ. in St. Louis School of Law)
    “… a collection of documents and information about civil rights cases in selected case categories across the United States. Currently, the categories include: Child Welfare, Disability Rights-Pub. Accom., Education, Election/Voting Rights, Equal Employment, Fair Housing/Lending/Insurance, Immigration, Jail Conditions, Juvenile Institution, Mental Health Facility, Mental Retardation Facility, Nursing Home Conditions, Other Criminal Justice, Policing, Prison Conditions, Public Benefits, Public Defenders, Public Housing, School Desegregation, Speech and Religious Freedom.”

  • H-LAW http://www.h-net.org/~law/
    H-LAW, part of H-NET (Humanities & Social Sciences Network) of discussion lists, promotes, “…discussion of issues relating to teaching and research in the history of all legal traditions: common-law, civil-law, and all other legal systems.” In addition to its discussion lists (accessible by discussion thread subject and date), the web site includes many book and multimedia reviews, as well as links to information about the American Society of Legal History (publications and activities).

  • Harvard Open Collections Program Collections http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu
    Working Women, 1800-1930 http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/ww/ and Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930 http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration/. Features digitized versions of selected historical manuscripts and other materials from Harvard University’s libraries, archives and museums.

  • Historical Publications of the United States Commission on Civil Rights http://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/usccr/index.asp (Thurgood Marshall Law Library, Univ. of Maryland School of Law)
    A digital archive of documents and publications in .pdf format, of the Commission. “…the Library has worked since 2001 to create a complete electronic record of United States Commission on Civil Rights publications held in the Library's collection and available on the USCCR Web site.”

  • Legal History on the Web http://www.law.duke.edu/legal_history/portal/ (Duke University, Univ. of North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina State Univ.)
    “This website is a production of the Triangle Legal History Seminar, a regional group of faculty and graduate students interested in legal history. The site provides an annotated overview of online legal history resources in English, from all historical periods and regions of the world.”

  • Legal Portraits Online http://www.law.harvard.edu/apps/library/collections/special/online-collections/portraits/index.php (Harvard Law Library)
    More than 4,000 portrait images of lawyers, jurists, political figures, and legal thinkers dating from the Middle Ages to the late 20th- century drawn from the Harvard Law School's Legal Portrait Collection.

  • Making of America (Cornell University) http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/
    From web site description: "Materials accessible here are Cornell University Library's contributions to Making of America (MOA), a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction.The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. This site provides access to 267 monograph volumes and over 100,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints."

  • Making of America (University of Michigan) http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moagrp/
    From the web site description: “A digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. The collection currently contains approximately 10,000 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints."

  • Minnesota Historical Society http://www.mnhs.org
    Legislative history information, Minnesota’s Constitutions, Duluth Lynchings.

  • National Bankruptcy Archives (Biddle Law Library, Univ. of Pennsylvania Law School)
    From the web site description: "... a national repository of materials relating to the history of debtor-creditor relations, bankruptcy and the reorganization of debt. The NBA collects records from the American College of Bankruptcy as well as from other organizations whose activities have been relevant to the history of bankruptcy and insolvency legislation, regulation, and administrative and judicial determination. The NBA also houses papers of individuals who have influenced the field, and other collections documenting the history of bankruptcy law.

  • Women's Legal History Website http://womenslegalhistory.stanford.edu (Robert Crown Law Library, Stanford Law School)
    “The Robert Crown Library Staff in collaboration with Professor Barbara Babcock and her students have created this website as a resource for all who are interested in the subject of women lawyers in the United States.” The site features an index of pioneering women lawyers with links to biographical information. Also includes links to additional related resources, web sites, articles and books.


General History Databases/Web Sites

HISTORY (Indexes & Databases)

The University Libraries provides access to a number of databases and electronic resources covering the subject area of history. Many of these resources are available throughout campus, and remotely, from off-campus for current University of Minnesota students, staff and faculty. Below are links to the University Libraries' list of databases related to history.

HISTORY WEB SITES - A Selective List

Selected Associations, Institutes & Programs

Legal History

Other Social Sciences & Multidisciplinary Areas

Criminology & Criminal Justice

History

Political Science

Psychology

Law & Society

Sociology

Culture / Anthropology

Legal Studies

Trials, Courts & Judges

FAMOUS TRIALS (see also, “Supreme Court Case Law Web Sites & Databases” and “Military Courts/Special Tribunals” below)

FEDERAL COURTS

Supreme Court History

Supreme Court Case Law Web Sites & Databases

Supreme Court Records, Briefs, Oral Argument Transcripts & Recordings

Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court

Other Federal Courts (Case law databases & web sites)

  • LexisNexis Academic http://www.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/lex2.cgi 
    U.S. Supreme Court opinions from 1790, Circuit court and District and other federal court decisions vary by court. The full-text of opinions can be searched by court or in various combinations.

  • History of the Federal Judiciary http://www.fjc.gov/history/home.nsf (Federal Judicial Center)
    The history section of the Federal Judicial Center’s web site features several interesting resources covering various aspects of the federal courts. These include: Biographical Directory of Federal Judges covering all judges who have served since 1789; historical background on the various federal courts, from the U.S. Supreme Court to specialized courts such as the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Court; educational materials for classroom use; an online gallery over 600 images of federal courts, essays on the creation and administration of the federal judiciary, including various administrative bodies; a “Timeline for Landmark Judicial Legislation”; links to various Federal courts historical programs.

  • Law Web Links – Federal – Judiciary http://www.law.umn.edu/library/tools/EResources/Federal.html#Fed-Judicial (Univ. of Minnesota Law Library)
    A collection of links to federal judiciary web resources. Includes links to U.S. Circuit Court web sites and opinion archives.

STATE COURTS

MILITARY LAW, TRIALS & SPECIAL COURTS 

U.S. Government Historical Documents

U.S. PRESIDENTS & PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS

FEDERAL AGENCY / ADMINISTRATIVE LAW MATERIALS

CONGRESS & CONGRESSIONAL DOCUMENTS

MINNESOTA LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

STATE LEGISLATIVE HISTORY SOURCES  (Other than Minnesota)

GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS GUIDES - University of Minnesota Libraries

STATISTICS RESOURCES

European Legal History

EUROPE GENERAL

  • Forum Historiae Iuris http://www.forhistiur.de
    Online legal magazine (available in English, German & French) on European legal history. Includes, articles, analysis, discussion, literature reviews and other research materials.

  • Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History 
    Accessible to all users within the Law Library.  Access to UMN Law faculty & students throughout Mondale Hall and remote access via proxy login.  From the publisher's description:  "Provides both historical and contemporary comparisons of the world legal systems.  Covers legal history from ancient to modern times. Approximately 1,000 articles explore the traditions of Ancient Greek Law, Ancient Roman Law, Medieval Roman Law, Chinese Law, English Common Law, Islamic Law, United States Law, and the laws of such other regions as Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. Major categories of law explained in detail include private law (contract, tort, civil procedure), public law (statutory, criminal, etc.), and higher or constitutional law."

ENGLISH LEGAL HISTORY

  • Anglo-American Legal Tradition http://aalt.law.uh.edu 
    Documents from Medieval and Early Modern England (beginning with (1176, Henry III through 1649, Charles I).  The main document series on the site are CP40 (court of common pleas plea rolls), KB27 (court of king's bench plea rolls), KB26 (king's bench and common pleas plea rolls from Henry III), E159 and E368 (exchequer memoranda rolls), C33 (chancery orders and decrees), CP25(1) (feet of fines), DL5 (duchy decrees and orders), and REQ1 (court of requests orders and decrees) ...  The site runs through the O'Quinn Law Library at the University of Houston under a non-commercial license from the U.K. National Archives.

  • The Bentham Project http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project/ (University College London)
    The Bentham Project is editing and publishing the complete works of the great English legal reformer Jeremy Bentham. The site includes bibliographies of Bentham's works, related publications and a brief biography.

  • Bracton Online http://hlsl5.law.harvard.edu/bracton/ (Harvard Law School Library)
    Bracton: De Legibus Et Consuetudinibus Angliæ (Bracton on the Laws and Customs of England attributed to Henry of Bratton, c. 1210-1268). Latin text and English translation of the extended treatise, "De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliae", (translated as "On the Laws and Customs of England"). Although authorship was originally attributed to Henry of Bracton, an English judge, it is now believed that the work was written in the 1220’s and 1230’s by persons other than Bracton himself. The work, “attempts to describe rationally the whole of English law, a task that was not again undertaken until Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England in the eighteenth century.”

  • British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/
    "Containing some of the core printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles. Created by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust . . . "

  • British Legal History http://www.law.cam.ac.uk/resources_history.php (Univ. of Cambridge, Faculty of Law)
    Selected links to legal history resources on the web arranged by historical periods: Anglo Saxon, Medieval, Early Common Law, Feudalism, Later Mediaevel Common Law, 17th – 20th centuries.

  • Early English Books Online (EBBO) http://www.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/eebo.cgi
    The works contained in EBBO include a broad scope of subject areas. Official dates of coverage are 1473-1700, corresponding to the dates covered in the Pollard & Redgrave and Wing short title catalogues, and the Thomason Tract and Tract Supplement collections. However, there are a few hundred items in EEBO that were printed after 1700. Most of these are later reproductions or reprints of originals.

  • English Legal History http://www.law.duke.edu/lib/researchguides/englishlegal.html (Duke Univ. Law Library)
    Primarily an overview of non-electronic sources in English law.

  • English Medieval Legal Documents AD 600 - AD 1535: A compilation of Published Sources http://emld.usc.edu/tiki-index.php (Univ. of Southern California, Asa V. Call Law Library)

  • HeinOnline – English Reports, Full Reprint (1220-1865) http://heinonline.org/HOL/Index?collection=engrep
    Search or browse the English Reports, Full Reprint including its "Index of Cases" and "Index Chart." Encompasses the decisions of the English Courts prior to the commencement of the Law Reports in 1865. It represents reprints of 275 separate series of reports, arranged by the English Courts: House of Lords, Chancery, Rolls Court, etc. The English Reports, Full Reprint contains over 100,000 cases reprinted verbatim and spans the years 1220 to 1867.

  • English Reports  (Justis Publishing) (Available at U of M Libraries and remote access available for users affiliated with the UMTC campus.)
    Covers over 100,000 of the most important cases reported between 1220 and 1873. Documents are available in PDF format.

  • Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London 1674 to 1834 http://www.oldbaileyonline.org
    Searchable, digitised collection of all surviving editions of the Old Bailey Proceedings from 1674 to 1834 (contains over 100,000 trials).

  • State Trials (Available at U of M Libraries and remote access available for users affiliated with the UMTC campus.) 
    Over seven centuries of higher criminal jurisprudence covering English trials relating to offences against the State or trials illustrative of the law relating to State Officers." Cases covered include high treason, bigamy sedition, libel, murder involving high-ranking officials, riot, piracy, witchcraft, bribery and corruption. Includes the Howell's/Cobbett's State Trials (1163-1822) and the New Series (Macdonell's) (1822-1858) and additional material sourced from the National Collections and the English (Nominate Reports). Documents are available in PDF images.

IRISH LEGAL HISTORY

  • Irish Penal Laws: Laws in Ireland for the Suppression of Popery http://www.law.umn.edu/irishlaw/
    Full-text copies of laws passed by the Protestant Parliament of Ireland which regulated the status of Roman Catholics through most of the 18th century. This site contains the text of those Penal Laws passed in Ireland during the reigns of William and Mary, William III, Anne, and George I and II, from 1691 to 1760. It also contains certain English statutes relating to the status of Irish Catholics. Includes links to related Irish and legal history resources on the web.

Other Countries & Legal Traditions

ISLAMIC & MIDDLE EASTERN LAW
  • Researching Islamic Law http://www.law.umn.edu/library/pathfinders/islamic.html (Univ. of Minnesota Law Library)
    A brief guide focused on resources available to Univ. of Minnesota law students for finding information on Islamic law.

  • Islamic and Middle Eastern Law Materials on the Net http://www.soas.ac.uk/cimel/materials/index.html (Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law)
    Texts and links to texts covering the Ancient (pre-Islamic) Middle East and Islamic Middle East.

  • Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History 
    Accessible to all users within the Law Library.  Access to UMN Law faculty & students throughout Mondale Hall and remote access via proxy login.  From the publisher's description:  "Provides both historical and contemporary comparisons of the world legal systems.  Covers legal history from ancient to modern times. Approximately 1,000 articles explore the traditions of Ancient Greek Law, Ancient Roman Law, Medieval Roman Law, Chinese Law, English Common Law, Islamic Law, United States Law, and the laws of such other regions as Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. Major categories of law explained in detail include private law (contract, tort, civil procedure), public law (statutory, criminal, etc.), and higher or constitutional law."

ANCIENT LEGAL HISTORY - Generally
  • Internet Ancient History Sourcebook – Legal Texts http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook-law.html
    Part of the Internet Ancient History Sourcebook (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook.html) and the Internet History Sourcebooks Project (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/). A collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history. “The Legal Texts section, …unites the texts on various aspects of the history of law in the ancient world - law codes, specific enactments/decrees/treaties, philosophical discussions, and constitutional documents.” Links to sources these source are arranged in the following categories: Ancient Legal History Generally,. Ancient Near East, Greece and the Hellenism, Rome: Republic and Empire, and Other Ancient Cultures (India, Japan and China).

  • Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History 
    Accessible to all users within the Law Library.  Access to UMN Law faculty & students throughout Mondale Hall and remote access via proxy login.  From the publisher's description:  "Provides both historical and contemporary comparisons of the world legal systems.  Covers legal history from ancient to modern times. Approximately 1,000 articles explore the traditions of Ancient Greek Law, Ancient Roman Law, Medieval Roman Law, Chinese Law, English Common Law, Islamic Law, United States Law, and the laws of such other regions as Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. Major categories of law explained in detail include private law (contract, tort, civil procedure), public law (statutory, criminal, etc.), and higher or constitutional law."

  • British Legal History http://www.law.cam.ac.uk/resources_history.php (Univ. of Cambridge, Faculty of Law)
    Selected links to legal history resources on the web arranged by historical periods: Anglo Saxon, Medieval, Early Common Law, Feudalism, Later Mediaevel Common Law, 17th – 20th centuries.

MEDIEVAL LAW

ROMAN LAW
  • Roman Law Resources http://www.iuscivile.com (Ernest Metzger, Faculty of Law, University of Aberdeen)
    “This site provides information (including annotated links to online sources) on Roman law and literature, the teaching of Roman law, and the persons who study Roman law. The site is available in English and German.”
  • Roman Law http://archiv.jura.uni-saarland.de/Rechtsgeschichte/Ius.Romanum/english.html (Roman Law branch of the Law-related Internet Project at the University of Saarbrücken)
    The essential part of this collection of pages is the representation of some fragments of the Corpus Iuris (the collection of laws initiated by the Emperor Justinian) with the apposite parts of the gloss of Accursisus. Includes links to other resources for legal history and classics on the web.

  • Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History 
    Accessible to all users within the Law Library.  Access to UMN Law faculty & students throughout Mondale Hall and remote access via proxy login.  From the publisher's description:  "Provides both historical and contemporary comparisons of the world legal systems.  Covers legal history from ancient to modern times. Approximately 1,000 articles explore the traditions of Ancient Greek Law, Ancient Roman Law, Medieval Roman Law, Chinese Law, English Common Law, Islamic Law, United States Law, and the laws of such other regions as Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. Major categories of law explained in detail include private law (contract, tort, civil procedure), public law (statutory, criminal, etc.), and higher or constitutional law."

Minnesota Legal History

  • Minnesota Legal History Project
    The objective of The Minnesota Legal History Project is to increase knowledge of and research into the legal history of the State of Minnesota. It will do so by making available previously published articles and by publishing new or original studies of Minnesota’s legal past.

    The Minnesota Legal History Project will publish studies of subjects that relate in any way to the legal history of the State of Minnesota, including the state constitution, state courts, Indian treaties, tribal law and courts, significant litigation, the development of specific areas of the law, memoirs and biographical sketches of individual lawyers, judges and their support staffs, and law firm histories, among others./font>

  • Minnesota Historical Society
    See the History Topics page to browse and locate resources by topic, e.g. crime & punishment, american indians, labor movement, politics & government, social issues and famous Minnesotans.

  • Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society

  • Chronological List of Justices and Judges of the Minnesota Appellate Courts

Selected Legal History Research Guides

Direct feedback on this page to lawlib@umn.edu

 Back to Top

Back to Top

Walter F. Mondale Hall,  229-19th Avenue South,  Minneapolis, MN 55455  ·  Phone: 612-625-1000,  Fax: 612-625-2011

©2005 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.

Trouble seeing the text? | Contact U of M | Privacy 

The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.

Last modified on August 22, 2009