Year Books facts for kids
The Year Books are the oldest collections of court cases from England. Think of them as the very first "law reports." These books recorded what happened in important court hearings, especially those in the Common Bench court.
Many copies of these handwritten books were passed around during the Late Middle Ages. Later, in the 1500s, printed versions of these court records started to appear. These printed books became the first examples of legal precedents, which are past court decisions that help guide future ones in the common law system.
The Year Books cover a long period, from 1268 to 1535. This includes the time when kings like Edward I and Henry VIII ruled England. The original books were written in Latin or Law French, which was a special type of French used in English law. Experts believe these old books were put together by law students, not by official court recorders.
Understanding the Year Books
The most famous printed version of the Year Books is called the "Vulgate" edition. It was published in many books between 1678 and 1680. This version became the standard one that lawyers used for a long time. More recently, the Selden Society has made newer editions for lawyers and historians.
The Year Books are usually split into eleven different groups, based on the time periods they cover:
- Reports from the time of King Edward II.
- Reports from the first ten years of King Edward III's rule.
- Reports from years 17 to 39 of Edward III's rule.
- Reports from years 40 to 50 of Edward III's rule.
- The Liber Assisarum, which means "Book of Assizes." This book contained important criminal cases from Edward III's time.
- Reports from the time of King Henry IV and King Henry V.
- The "Annals," or reports from King Henry VI's rule (Volume 1).
- The "Annals," or reports from King Henry VI's rule (Volume 2).
- The "Annals" of King Edward IV.
- The "Long Quinto," which means "Long Fifth," a special report from the fifth year of Edward IV's rule.
- Cases from the reigns of kings like Edward V, Richard III, Henry VII, and Henry VIII.
Shorter Versions of the Year Books
Over time, people made shorter versions of the Year Books called abridgements. These were like summaries that picked out the most important cases and grouped them by topic. The first abridgement was made by Nicholas Statham around 1470. He was an important judge during the time of King Edward IV.
The last Year Book was printed in 1535. After that, new types of printed law reports started to appear. These new reports were often named after the person who collected and edited them. For example, Sir Edward Coke was a very important judge who published many court reports during his time as the main judge of the Court of Common Pleas.
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