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Archive: 2021 (13 Posts)

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Bill of Rights Day 2021 – Pic of the Week

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

Today, December 15, is Bill of Rights Day, the 230th anniversary of the ratification of the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution. On this day in 1791, the Virginia General Assembly completed the ratification process for those amendments. Virginia’s ratification of the Bill of Rights fulfilled the requirement that federal constitutional amendments must …

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New Acquisition: 15th-Century Manuscript on the Laws of War for Knights

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

A few months ago, I highlighted on this blog two medieval manuscripts that the Law Library recently acquired. In this post, I would like to announce the acquisition of another new addition to the Law Library’s growing collection of medieval manuscripts, a remarkable 15th-century manuscript of L’Arbre des Batailles (The Tree of Battles) by the …

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Sir Matthew Hale and Evidence of Witchcraft

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

Not long ago, I wrote a post on this blog about the use of spectral evidence in a criminal trial. Spectral evidence was testimony in which witnesses claimed that the accused appeared to them and did them harm in a dream or a vision. The Court of Oyez and Terminer that presided over the Salem …

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Collection Highlights: Chancellor James Kent

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

Last September, I published a post on this blog about Joseph Story and the creation of Story’s Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, one of the most important legal publications of Antebellum America. This year, I thought I would continue along the same vein and highlight the Law Library’s holdings of items related …

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Celebrating Magna Carta’s Birthday

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

Today is the 806th anniversary of the day King John of England committed to undertake the reforms that were enumerated in Magna Carta. King John granted Magna Carta to his barons on June 15, 1215, in order to halt their rebellion and to regain their support for his leadership. While Magna Carta was a document …

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French Civil Code of 1804: Images from the Foreign and Comparative Law Webinar by Nicolas Boring

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

On January 28, 2021, Foreign Law Specialist Nicolas Boring discussed the Napoleonic Code’s history, evolution, and legacy in an installment of the Law Library of Congress’ foreign and comparative law webinar series. The webinar discussed the prehistory of the French Civil Code, its drafting and adoption, its contents, and the history of its immense influence …

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New Acquisition: Justinian’s Institutes in Emblemata, Johannes Buno’s Memoriale Institutionum Juris

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

This post was created with the assistance of Elizabeth Korres, Library Technician in the Law Library’s Global Legal Collection Directorate. Memorization is an inevitable part of studying law, and it has been for a very long time. To grapple with this, authors have tried to offer students strategies for memorization that will make learning the …