A Power to Do Justice - Jurisdiction, English Literature, and the Rise of Common Law, 1509–1625

Sep 18, 2026

A scholarly study examining how jurisdiction shaped English literature and contributed to the rise of common law between 1509 and 1625. The book frames key works and authors through changing legal practices, tracing a movement from centralization to rationalization and then formalization. Essays focus on topics such as bureaucracy and royal privilege, equity and competing claims of jurisdiction, legal nationalism and national history, and the negotiation of imperium and norms in dramatic texts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages423

Reading Time10 h 51 min

AccessFree to download

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Note on Citations

Prologue: A Power to Do Justice

Introduction: Literature and Jurisdiction

Part I Centralization

1 “Shewe Us Your Mynde Then”: Bureaucracy and Royal Privilege in Skelton’s Magnyfycence

2 “No More to Medle of the Matter”: Thomas More, Equity, and the Claims of Jurisdiction

Part II Rationalization

3 Inconveniencing the Irish: Custom, Allegory, and the Common Law in Spenser’s Ireland

4 “If We Be Conquered”: Legal Nationalism and the France of Shakespeare’s English Histories

Part III Formalization

5 “To Stride a Limit”: Imperium, Crisis, and Accommodation in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline and Pericles

6 “To Law for Our Children”: Norm and Jurisdiction in Webster, Rowley, and Heywood’s Cure for a Cuckold

Notes

Index

A Power toDoJustice A Power to Do Justice jurisdiction, english literature, and t h e r i s e o f com mon l aw , 1 5 0 9 – 1 6 2 5 Bradin Cormack The University of Chicago Press chicago & london brad in c or mack is associate professor of English at the University of Chicago. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London 2007 by The University of Chicago All rights reserved. Published 2007 Printed in the United States of America 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 1 2 3 4 5 isbn-13: 978-0-226-11624-2 (cloth) isbn-10: 0-226-11624-7 (cloth) The University of Chicago Press gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Division of the Humanities at the University of Chicago toward the publication of this book. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cormack, Bradin. A power to do justice : jurisdiction, English literature, and the rise of common law, 1509–1625 /BradinCormack. [p. cm](p. cm). Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13: 978-0-226-11624-2 (alk. paper) isbn-10: 0-226-11624-7 (alk. paper) 1. English literature—Early modern, 1500–1700—History and criticism. 2. Law and literature—Great Britain—History—16th century. 3. Law and literature—Great Britain—History—17th century. 4. Law in literature. I. Title. pr428 .l37c67 2008 820.9􀀂 002—dc22 2007024210 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1992. In memory of my father, george noel cor mack c o n t e n t s List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Note on Citations xv Prologue: A Power to Do Justice 1 Introduction: Literature and Jurisdiction 11 part i centralization 1 “Shewe Us Your Mynde Then”: Bureaucracy and Royal Privilege in Skelton’s Magnyfycence 47 2 “No More to Medle of the Matter”: Thomas More, Equity, and the Claims ofJurisdiction 85 part ii rationalization 3 Inconveniencing the Irish: Custom, Allegory, and the Common Law in Spenser’s Ireland 133 4 “If We Be Conquered”: Legal Nationalism and the France of Shakespeare’s English Histories 177 part iii formalization 5 “To Stride a Limit”: Imperium, Crisis, and Accommodation in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline and Pericles 227 6 “To Law for Our Children”: Norm and Jurisdiction in Webster, Rowley, and Heywood’s Cure for a Cuckold 291 Notes 331 Index 387 i l l u s t r a t i o n s 1 William I, from John Rastell, The Pastyme of People (1529) 207 2 Richard I, from Rastell, Pastyme of People 207 3 Edward III, from Rastell, Pastyme of People 207 4 Henry V, from Rastell, Pastyme of People 207 5 Edward IV, from Rastell, Pastyme of People 208 6 Henry IV, from Rastell, Pastyme of People 208 7 William II, from Rastell, Pastyme of People 210 8 William I, William II, and Henry I, from A Brief Abstract (ca. 1560) 211 9 Thomas Hood, map of the English headlands (1605) 260 10 Sir Julius Caesar, draft of proclamation on international ﬁshing (1609) 264 11 Frontispiece to William Camden, Britannia (1607) 267 12 Map of Great Britain and Ireland, from John Speed, Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine (1611) 268 13 Detail of map of Lancashire, from Speed, Theatre 270 14 Detail of map of Warwickshire, from Speed, Theatre 271 15 Detail of map of Northamptonshire, from Speed, Theatre 271 16 Detail of map of Rutlandshire, from Speed, Theatre 272 17 Detail of map of Rutlandshire, from Speed, Theatre 272 18 Detail of map of Wales, from Speed, Theatre 273 19 Detail of map of Cardiganshire, from Speed, Theatre 274 20 Detail of map of Lancashire, from William Camden, Britannia (1607) 276 21 Detail of map of Lancashire, from Christopher Saxton’s atlas (1579) 277

FAQs

What time period does the book cover?

It addresses developments from 1509 to 1625, linking changes in jurisdiction to literary culture and legal history.

How is the argument structured across the book’s parts?

The contents are organized into Part I (centralization), Part II (rationalization), and Part III (formalization), each addressing different legal and cultural shifts.

Which kinds of literary works does the book discuss?

Chapters focus on early modern writers and texts including works by Skelton, Thomas More, Spenser, Shakespeare, Webster, Rowley, and Heywood.

Sep 18, 2026

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