Legal (hi)stories from the Palatinate
Vol. 341 of the Studien zur europäischen Rechtsgeschichte has been published
Charta Palatina, 1774–1776
Christian Mayer (Kartograph) / Aegid Verhelst (Kupferstecher)
Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg,
Graph. Slg. A_0576_Reproduktion
https://heidicon.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/detail/274445
The title of this volume of legal (hi)stories by Michael Stolleis, who sadly passed away in March 2021, exploits the ambiguity of the German word R/recht to express the author’s conviction that writing legal history should also involve telling a good story. Stolleis’ work always combined his detailed knowledge of sources and immense scholarship with his literary talent. This volume, appearing to celebrate his 80th birthday, demonstrates this once again in the context of studies of its author’s home region, the Pfalz (Palatinate).
The legal (hi)stories in the book unfold a panorama of the region from the early modern period to the 19th century. The reader encounters a wedding party, Frankfurt lawyers and silk farmers and follows the fates of individual migrants. Stolleis vividly evokes the ways in which the authorities of Electoral Palatinate dealt with beggars and the tensions between Bavaria and the Palatinate.
Michael Stolleis’ historical tales of law are accompanied by contemporary copper engravings of some of the locations of the events.