Thirteenth-Century Proofs of Age: the Development of a Hybrid Legal Form

摘要

This article examines the records of free-standing proof-of-age hearings from their probable introduction around the mid thirteenth century to their formal consolidation by the beginning of the fourteenth. It traces the gradual establishment of a hybrid legal form, unique to proof hearings, whereby individual jurors were routinely questioned as to the basis of their knowledge of an heir's birth and replied with a statement of plausible personal connection with the birth. It shows in detail how a rationalising legal bureaucracy encountered the expectations and practices of local jurors and recorders and the compromises that resulted in an enduring legal form.View full textDownload full textRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01440365.2010.525920