This Easter Sunday, March 31, marks the 521st anniversary of the issuance of the Alhambra Decree. To some, that name means nothing. Perhaps it is better known by its other name: The Edict of Expulsion. It was in the city of Granada, in the spring of 1492 that the Catholic Monarchs, Isabelle of Castile …
It has been frequently said that everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. There may be just a little bit of truth to that. Those of you who have read my posts have probably noticed the recurring themes of Mexico, Spain, and Hispanic America, among others—all with an unorthodox twist. This blog post is not the exception. …
Nearly everyone who sees the item that appears in today’s pic of the week post makes the same observation: “Law students never change.” Here is a fourteenth century manuscript of Justinian’s Institutes, the introductory textbook for the Roman Law in the form in which it was used in the Middle Ages. In the image below …
Today’s pic of the week highlights an item from our collection that finds itself in the spotlight very often, whether as part of a display in one of the Library of Congress’s many fascinating public exhibitions, or as a quasi-sacred book in the swearing-in ceremony of public officials. It is also one of my favorite …
“There may be room there, though not here for such an holy experiment.” William Penn (1644-1718) wrote these words to a friend in America before he set sail across the Atlantic to found a colony in the New World. The holy experiment he spoke about was a plan to establish a new polity founded on …
Like many people, I have always enjoyed being scared—just a little—not with chainsaws and blood but a contest of wits between the archetypal vampire Dracula and his human opponents. Dracula of course is not the first fictional vampire. John Polidori, physician to Lord Byron, and Sheridan LeFanu both wrote short stories about vampires in the …
The idea of republican simplicity is a relic from the age of the American Revolutionary War. To get at its meaning, it’s easiest to meditate on its opposite. Think to yourself: How do I address a king? Am I meant to bow/curtsey? How low? What do I do with my hands while I bow? Do …
Today is the anniversary of the ratification of the first written constitution in American history, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, which took place on January 14, 1639. The Fundamental Orders outlined the form of government that would be established over the Connecticut River Towns, enumerating its powers and describing the duties of citizens active in government. A fascinating document …
The following is a guest post by Peter Roudik, Director of the Global Legal Research Center and a specialist on the laws of Eastern European and former Soviet Union jurisdictions. In previous posts, my colleagues have discussed different types of laws from various countries. These have included unusual laws, little-known laws, and laws that were …
King Canute may have failed to stop the rising of the tide when he commanded the sea to halt, but Pope Gregory XIII was able to decree the annulment of time itself; or to be more specific, he declared the erasure of 10 days in October of 1582, and he pulled it off in such …