The history of equity takes in questions of philosophy, theology, jurisprudence and legal history.
When we speak of ‘equity’, do we mean Aristotelian epieikeia, civilian aequitas, a theological or juridical conscience, the common law concept of the ‘equity of the statute’, or merely the rules applied by the Court of Chancery before 1875? The purpose of this volume is to chart the evolution of equity in English legal history from the medieval period to the present day. Whether by investigating the historical foundations of the modern law, the jurisprudential underpinnings of the equitable jurisdiction, or the socio-political context of discrete legal developments, this collection exposes the strands of thought which ‘equity’ comprises and the mechanisms by which its rules evolved.
1. Introduction D Foster and C Mitchell (University College London, UK) 2. Conceptualising Conscience in the Early Tudor Conciliar Courts L Flannigan (University of Oxford, UK) 3. The Statute of Richard III (1484) and the Emergence of Beneficial Ownership in Freehold Land A Hannay (Queen Mary University of London, UK) 4. ‘Equity’ in the Court of Chancery, 1529-1615 N Jones (University of Cambridge, UK) 5. Epieikeia and the Common Law: The Rise and Fall of Equitable Interpretation of English Statutes L Maniscalco (University of Cambridge, UK) 6. ‘The Equity of the Common Lawes’ in Hake’s Epieikiea J McCunn (University of Bristol, UK) 7. The Practical Application of Equity in the Court of Chancery in Relation to Insolvent Debtors in the Late Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries F Stolker (University of Oxford, UK) 8. Sir Moyle Finch’s Litigation and the Equitable Jurisdiction J Baker (University of Cambridge, UK) 9. Suretyship in Equity D Waddilove (University of Notre Dame, USA) 10. Enforcing the Beneficial Interest as a Matter of Right, c. 1660-1750 D Foster (University College London, UK) 11. A Re-Examination of the Expectant Heir in Seventeenth-Century Chancery H Saunders (Keele University, UK) 12. The Emergence of Fiduciary Duties from Lord Nottingham to Lord King A Douglas (University of Cambridge, UK) 13. Equity Contract Doctrine, c. 1689 to 1738 M Macnair (University of Oxford, UK) 14. Chancery, Femes Coverts and the ‘Unhappy Tyme’ of the South Sea Crash: An Analysis E Ireland (University of Adelaide, Australia) 15. The Origins and Early History of Constructive Fraud J Grower (University of Cambridge, UK) 16. Ideas of Equity in Common Law Reasoning from Ellesmere to Mansfield D Ibbetson (University of Cambridge, UK) 17. Equity and Law before Fusion A Televantos (University of Oxford, UK) 18. Equity and Legal Change, 1760-1825 S Waddams (University of Toronto, Canada) 19. Arbitrations by the Chancery Masters in Ordinary, c. 1800-1850 C Mitchell (University College London, UK) 20. Title TBC M Lobban (London School of Economics and Political Science, UK) 21. The Code of Equity J Getzler (University of Oxford, UK) 22. Equity after Fusion C Macmillan (King’s College London, UK)
David Foster is Associate Professor of Law and Charles Mitchell is Professor of Law, both at University College London, UK.
