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Category: Law Library

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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 …

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New Acquisition: The Trial of Governor Picton, A Case of Torture in Trinidad

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

The following is a guest post by Louis Myers, the current Librarian-in-Residence at the Law Library of Congress. Louis has recently authored blog posts for In Custodia Legis, including Research Guides in Focus – Municipal Codes: A Beginner’s Guide and Research Guides in Focus – Neighbor Law: A Beginner’s Guide. This post contains research contributed …

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New Acquisition: 15th Century Manuscript of Johannes de Imola’s Commentary on the Decretales of Gregory IX

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

In a recent post on this blog, I announced the acquisition of an interesting 15th century manuscript of a work of canon law that recorded the Canons and Constitutions of the Archdiocese of Zaragoza, Spain. It was an exciting addition to the Law Library’s growing collection of medieval and early modern manuscript books. In this …

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New Acquisition: 15th-Century Manuscript of the Canons and Constitutions of the Archdiocese of Zaragoza

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

One of last year’s noteworthy additions to the Law Library’s rare book collection was a 15th-century manuscript of the canons and constitutions of the archdiocese of the province of Zaragoza, Spain. This item’s acquisition expands the Law Library’s collection of manuscripts, a collection that has been growing in recent years. It includes more than 60 …