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Category: Global Law

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Proxy Voting in France

Posted by: Margaret Wood

The following is a guest post from Nicolas Boring, foreign law specialist covering French speaking jurisdictions at the Law Library of Congress. France has just finished its election season!  French citizens elected Emmanuel Macron as their new president earlier in May, and they returned to the voting booths on June 11 and June 18 for parliamentary …

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1066 and the Bayeux Tapestry

Posted by: Margaret Wood

Last Friday, October 14th, marked the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.  On October 14, 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England and overthrew the last Anglo Saxon king, Harold Godwinson. The Bayeux Tapestry commemorates the events of that turbulent time.  My colleague Emily has a fold-out book of the tapestry, and I thought it …

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Law and Mrs. de Winter

Posted by: Margaret Wood

I recently read Daphne DuMaurier’s novel Rebecca.  I had started reading the novel several times before, while visiting my grandmother, but I always had to leave before getting much beyond the first two or three chapters.  It is a suspenseful book–and even knowing the basics of the story did not detract from the tension.  What did surprise …

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Henry VIII by William Shakespeare

Posted by: Margaret Wood

Since it is April, and today is Shakespeare’s birthday, it is time for our annual post on this great playwright.  Last year, in  honor of our upcoming Magna Carta exhibit, I blogged about the play King John.  This year, in honor of Wolf Hall, I thought it would be fun to read and write about …

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J.R.R. Tolkien – Paperbacks and Copyright

Posted by: Margaret Wood

Almost every year, in the fall, I find myself picking up The Lord of the Rings and re-reading parts of it.  It has long been one of my favorite books.  However, my first introduction to J.R.R. Tolkien’s writing was not so positive.  When I was in the fifth grade, I had picked up The Hobbit …

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Movies and Court Martials

Posted by: Margaret Wood

Home with a cold this spring, I was re-reading a mystery novel which centered in part around the fate of a British officer in World War I.  In the novel, the officer had been executed for cowardice which made me begin to think about movies which portray incidents of military justice.  Although fellow staff members …

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Sumptuary Laws

Posted by: Margaret Wood

During a recent blog team meeting, one of my colleagues mentioned restrictions during the early modern era concerning who could consume that newly discovered drink–chocolate.  Having studied medieval history in college, I was reminded that during the Middle Ages there had also been efforts to pass laws regulating many aspects of daily life, with the …

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Mexican Law – Global Legal Collection Highlights

Posted by: Margaret Wood

The following is a guest post by Gustavo Guerra, senior foreign law specialist for Mexico and other Spanish speaking countries in the Law Library’s Global Legal Research Directorate. This post is part of the Global Legal Collection Highlights series which is intended to inform readers about recently published materials on foreign law available in English …