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Rating: 
Summary: A brilliant work, although you will need some background
Review: Clanchy takes on a fascinating topic, but one which might well seem unfathomable to a modern audience -- the rise of legalism. In the early Middle Ages (prior to the 12th century), most matters were handled on the basis of a public promise -- shake hands in front of people, place your hands on a relic, etc. In the 12th century there is a massive shift away from this towards getting things down in writing. Where before ideas had been "from the beginning of time" (i.e. as far back as anyone could remember, at best a couple of generations), now there was the rise of tangible recordings of events, which might also lead to tangible forgeries. Still the concept of taking a man at his word did not die away altogether or quickly. This book does a fine job of describing the shifting notion of what is proof and what counts legally in society. There are points where the reader will need background, such as some basic notions of the feudal system (a notion which itself has come under attack as inaccurate of late), but overall it is quite a readable text
Rating: 
Summary: Medieval law and memory
Review: Clanchy's book is a profound exploration of the impact of bureaucracy on the daily lives of ordinary people; the nature of law and legal procedure; and the shape of government itself. Highly valuable for studies in medieval communities; intellectual life; and law and the state.
Rating: 
Summary: dry and dreadful
Review: It's no wonder that people look at me strangely when I explain a great love of history to them. It's books like this that persist in the ruination of history for many a student. If this book were more widely circulated, the need for sleeping pills would be drastically reduced. I have no idea how the author could take something this interesting and make it so boring that I would literally fall asleep reading it.
Rating:
Summary: dry and dreadful
Review: It's no wonder that people look at me strangely when I explain a great love of history to them. It's books like this that persist in the ruination of history for many a student. If this book were more widely circulated, the need for sleeping pills would be drastically reduced. I have no idea how the author could take something this interesting and make it so boring that I would literally fall asleep reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding history
Review: Moving from reliance on human memory to the written word was a long and interesting process which is fully explored by this book. Prior to Edward I's reign, the assumption was that "time out of mind" was about a century prior to the present. The date before which legal proof of rights was not required had previously been moved forward in time as required: the date of Henry I's death followed by Henry II's coronation followed by Richard I's coronation. But there it stayed fixed by Edward I's statutes. Time out of mind was prior to September 3, 1189. After that date, it was expected that written records rather than human memory would confirm legally valid grants of rights. The development of a written culture of everyday affairs covers many sorts of artifacts and concepts. Tally sticks as bills and receipts, personal seals functioning as signatures, why we began signing with an "x", and the number of pounds of sealing wax used by the King's Chancery over time are all explored in this book. The development of heraldry as part of the shift from memory to written record is also commented on briefly. The author carefully studies the question "Were laymen literate?" and tries hard to make the reader understand what being literate meant in this period. Our modern concept of someone who can read AND write simply doesn't fit with concepts held at the time about literacy. The author's conclusions on the pervasiveness of literacy in this period are surprising. Throughout the book, the very different reasons for and processes surrounding the making of a record, the keeping of a record, and the using of a record are carefully differentiated. This is an outstanding work of history for the student of literacy, of medieval history, and of legal history.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding history
Review: Moving from reliance on human memory to the written word was a long and interesting process which is fully explored by this book. Prior to Edward I's reign, the assumption was that "time out of mind" was about a century prior to the present. The date before which legal proof of rights was not required had previously been moved forward in time as required: the date of Henry I's death followed by Henry II's coronation followed by Richard I's coronation. But there it stayed fixed by Edward I's statutes. Time out of mind was prior to September 3, 1189. After that date, it was expected that written records rather than human memory would confirm legally valid grants of rights. The development of a written culture of everyday affairs covers many sorts of artifacts and concepts. Tally sticks as bills and receipts, personal seals functioning as signatures, why we began signing with an "x", and the number of pounds of sealing wax used by the King's Chancery over time are all explored in this book. The development of heraldry as part of the shift from memory to written record is also commented on briefly. The author carefully studies the question "Were laymen literate?" and tries hard to make the reader understand what being literate meant in this period. Our modern concept of someone who can read AND write simply doesn't fit with concepts held at the time about literacy. The author's conclusions on the pervasiveness of literacy in this period are surprising. Throughout the book, the very different reasons for and processes surrounding the making of a record, the keeping of a record, and the using of a record are carefully differentiated. This is an outstanding work of history for the student of literacy, of medieval history, and of legal history.
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