We discuss what a Constitution is; and then go in search of one and the development of justice in English Medieval history, from the Anglo Saxons to Edward II and his uncomfortable experience at Berkeley Castle, by way of Staines
A couple of video links for you.
Firstly, here’s a link to the BBC for the Black Power British Resistance programme – it was very good.
Also, I came across a bunch of short GCSE level videos on Common Law moments, I think by Harry Potter, called The Strange Case of the Law. They are good if you are interested.
Reading List for the series
None of the books below were harmed in the making of this programme, but they were all jolly useful
Baker, J H ‘An Introduction to English Legal; History’ : Really pretty detailed coverage for a non lawyer; good to check the odd fact or two.
Colley, Linda ‘The Gun, the Ship and the Pen’ : fascinating book, covering constitutional development across the globe, pointing out the impact of war
Loughlin, M ‘The British Constitution: A Very Short Introduction’ : Brilliant book, and delightfully short, of the theoretical background
Lyon, A ‘Constitutional History of the United Kingdom’: the knitting – packed with political detail
Oliver,D ed ‘How Constitutions Change’: quite hard work, more a monograph than anything; but again fascinating international detail
Jones, C ‘A short History of Parliament’: really a detailed look at the mechanics and operation of parliament more than a general constitutional history
Potter, H ‘Law, Liberty and the Constitution’ : A very enjoyable,. readable book. About common law really rather than Constitution.
May I also add the December 16th, 2020, episode of The Things That Made England Podcast as an excellent starting off point. I feel I understood this episode much better after having had the TTME episode lay the ground work for me.
Thanks Eric!
Brilliant. Wonderful groundwork, excellent explanation of Constitutions in general. Thanks once again for adding more to my grey matter. Cheers!
Thank you! I worry I’ve over done the whole constitutions thing, but lets see!
Just an excellent podcast to start off. Not overdone at all and brilliant.
Fantastic, thank you! You’ve not ploughed through all the others on their way yet…fingers crossed though!
Just loved the reference to the comment in the modern workplace “But we’ve always done it that way.” would inevitably mean the speaker’s career going down the toilet.
Neale
Just a couple of small items:
In the reading list:
1) “Brilliant bok” should be “Brilliant book” in the Loughlin book;
2) “mor ea monograph” should be “more a monograph” in the Oliver book;
Thanks again for a much needed series.