Popular Legal Manuals as Sources and Mechanisms of Acquiring Legal Literacy
In M. Korpiola (ed.), Legal Literacy in Premodern European Societies, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2019, pp. 191-209.
Bocconi Legal Studies Research Paper Series Number 3292876, November 2018
12 Pages Posted: 20 Dec 2018
Date Written: January 30, 2018
Abstract
In this article, I am arguing that we can include very different discursive forms and types of law manuals aimed at a wider public of non-jurists among the sources and mechanism of acquiring legal literacy. More precisely, most popularizing written works might be considered a specific form of literature in the field of law, like the legal manuals for laymen. To this purpose, popular legal manuals which were published both in Continental Europe and in common law countries during the nineteenth century formed a very interesting kind of popular legal literature which shared similar features. One might talk of a “transnational” legal literary genre addressed to a non-professional, or a lay public of readers.
Keywords: Popular legal literature, Italian legal manuals (19th century), English legal manuals (19th century), US legal manuals (19th century)
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