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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

I was really touched to receive the Walter Williams teaching award from the William & Mary Law class of 2026. They're a really special group. I had almost half of them in Trusts & Estates last fall.

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Christmas came early, in the form of a box with my editor copies of most of the recent books out with Studies in Legal History @universitypress.cambridge.org. It was a real pleasure to work with these two authors on their first books. @zacharyherz.bsky.social

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Some of my students were filming a video for graduation and asked themselves "who in the law school would appreciate a visit from the mace?" They guessed right!

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

I was just thinking about this piece again the other day, on the ways in which 13th-cent. monarchs treated pardons much like they treated their almsgiving, so that Hen. III could pardon a homicide "for the salvation of the soul of Louis, first-born son of the king of France." I enjoyed writing it

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

I was just thinking about that piece again the other day. Thanks for the shout-out, Josh!

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Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

The original rectorial biretta of Vilnius University has been re-discovered in the treasury of Vilnius Cathedral. This biretta would have been worn by the Oxonian Adam Brock when he was Rector in 1602-1605 www.bpmuziejus.lt/naujienos/at...

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Hidetaka Hirota @hidehirota.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

If you study legal history, please consider submitting a proposal for the 2026 conference of the American Society for Legal History in Banff, Canada in November! The Program Committee accepts proposals until March 24! #ASLH #legalhistory 🗃️ aslh.net/2026-annual-...

aslh.net

2026 Annual Meeting Call for Papers | American Society for Legal History

Call for Papers 2026 American Society for Legal History Annual Meeting (November 12 - 14, 2026) The Program Committee of the American Society for Legal History invites proposals for the 2026 meeting t...

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Excited to announce that "Medieval Treatises and the Judicial Search for a Useable Past," which I wrote together with my colleague and friend Alli Larsen, has been accepted for publication in the Stanford Law Review. Draft is available on SSRN. Just follow the link.

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

A little over a week ago I was up at Catholic U. to speak on a panel with John Langbein on the role of priests in the early history of the English common law. The panel was recorded if anyone is interested: cit.catholic.edu/events/the-p...

cit.catholic.edu

The Priesthood in the Evolution of Anglo-American Criminal Procedure – CIT

William M. M. Kamin | John Langbein | Thomas McSweeney

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

There was a case I discussed in my book where the major players were Richard, Roger, and Robert. Spent a lot of time rewriting to try to minimize reader confusion.

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

Fun fact: the painting on the front cover, of Odysseus, washed up on the shore of Phaeacia, kneeling in front of Nausicaä, actually hung in the court’s chamber. The book contains a wonderful description of the courtroom and how it was designed to send a message of rehabilitation. 3/3

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

Court, Credit, and Capital, A brilliant blend of legal, economic, and cultural history that reveals how credit and trust sustained commerce during the Dutch Golden Age 2/3

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

Excited to see Maurits den Hollander’s Court, Credit, and Capital in print with Studies in Legal History at CUP. Court, Credit, and Capital uncovers how Amsterdam’s 17th-century insolvency court transformed insolvency law—from punishment to rehabilitation 1/3

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

The God and the Bureaucrat is also just a great read. I enjoyed working with Zach to get it published with Studies in Legal History, and I’m happy to see it in print! 6/6

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

The Roman law that has come down to us is thus not a record of how Roman law actually worked on the ground so much as it is a record of how the Roman emperors represented their rule through the medium of law. 5/6

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

As Herz puts it “Classical Roman law should be understood not as a record of Classical Romans actually handling their legal business, but instead as a record of Romans using the structures of law to tell stories about their world and in particular about their state.” 4/6

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Herz takes us through the process by which Roman law acquired these attributes. He argues that emperors used law as an important means of political representation. 3/6

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Herz starts with the observation that Roman law, in the form in which it has come down to us, has three important attributes: it is suprapersonal (i.e., authority does not depend on the personality of the particular emperor issuing the law), it is technocratic, and it is supreme. 2/6

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Really excited for @zacharyherz.bsky.social's new book, The God and the Bureaucrat: Roman Law, Imperial Sovereignty, and Other Stories, out now with Studies in Legal History at CUP. 1/6

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

I was honored to receive this at the law school graduation ceremony yesterday. Congratulations to the William & Mary Law School class of 2025!

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

As a thank-you, the very thoughtful students in the legal history society gave me these.

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Happy to do this for the grads and families. I'm glad so many people are interested in the history of the law school. Enough people signed up that we had to split it into two tours today!

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Alice Taylor @ajt55.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Extremely pleased to announce (and first ever post here) that Danica Summerlin and my special issue on 'law beyond the legal renaissance', funded by @britishacademy.bsky.social, is now out, with open access introduction www.tandfonline.com/toc/flgh20/4... .

tandfonline.com

The Journal of Legal History

Volume 46, Issue 1 of The Journal of Legal History

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Mateusz Fafinski @calthalas.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Sometimes working with manuscripts gets us really, really close to the people from the past allowing us to hear their voices. This is a story of a letter from a schoolgirl to her teacher, written probably sometime at the end of the 9th or the beginning of the 10th century. A thread 🧵 #medievalsky /1

A faint writing, the text is in Latin and it reads: Domina magistra felhin date mihi licenciam in hac nocte vigilare cum magistra adalu et ego vobis ambabus manibus confirmo atque iuro ut per totam noctem declinare volo aut legere aut pro seniore nostro cantare Valete et ut peto facite. (Abbreviations have been resolved in this transcription).

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Kenneth F. Duggan 🇨🇦 @kfduggan.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Murder at the Medieval Mill Medieval millers were not always well liked and it’s not uncommon to read in criminal court records that a miller had been killed. This person leaving a windmill sure looks like they regret doing something nefarious at the mill with the mallet they're holding. 🧵1/5

A person wearing a dark tunic is leaving a windmill, presumably at the end of a hard day's work. The person is carrying a mallet and has a look on their face like they've done something wrong. Maybe they've killed the miller?
Reference: Taymouth Hours, BL, Yates Thompson 13 (14th century)

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Paul Gowder @gowder.io · 25/11/2024

I'm chairing this search, and we're really eager for applicants!

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Happy Birthday, Phi Beta Kappa! 248 years ago today, on December 5th, 1776, a group of William & Mary students met at the Raleigh Tavern on Duke of Gloucester Street and established Phi Beta Kappa. The original minutes, running from 1776 to 1781, are held by Swem Library.

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Happy birthday, William & Mary Law School! On December 4th, 1779, the Board of Visitors met and reorganized the college, establishing a chair in law, the first in the United States. From the Virginia Gazette, December 18, 1779.

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Kenneth F. Duggan 🇨🇦 @kfduggan.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Correcting errors in medieval records: You listed the wrong person as a killer in a court record. What do you do? Well, you could draw a line through the name, as the clerk did in this homicide case from 1255 when he accidentally listed Walter le Stock as the killer instead of Walter Stuttuk. 🧵1/4

A record of a homicide case from 1255 in which the clerk recorded the wrong name for the killer, then put a line through the incorrect name and added the correct name. The record is written in brownish-black ink in abbreviated Latin on parchment.
Reference: TNA, JUST 1/300C

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Medieval Murder Maps @medimurdermaps.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Do you want to stay up to date with scholarship on late medieval economic and social history? @stephemmabrown.bsky.social's review of the literature published in 2023 is now available at Economic History Review doi.org/10.1111/ehr.... #MedievalSky #EconHist

doi.org

<em>The Economic History Review</em> | EHS Journal | Wiley Online Library

Click on the article title to read more.

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Kenneth F. Duggan 🇨🇦 @kfduggan.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Medieval villages were often tasked with transporting people to gaol. This could be dangerous and expensive business. Friends and family of criminals could try to free the person through violence or bribery. And if a captive escaped, then the village would collectively be fined £5–£8! 🧵1/5

A group of people are in a procession in the marginalia at the bottom of a manuscript. There are eight people in total. The person at the front is playing a fiddle, while the person at the back is banging a set of drums that is being carried by (what appears to be) a child. The other five people in the middle are holding hands.

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Kenneth F. Duggan 🇨🇦 @kfduggan.bsky.social · 09/11/2024

I've put together a legal history starter pack for anyone interested in the history of crime & punishment, law, policing, social control, and violence. Please let me know if you want to (or know someone who should) be added to the list. go.bsky.app/Vg4M4V5

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Dr Renske Janssen🟥 @renskejanssen.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Proud and happy to share that my first book 'Marginalized Religion and the Law in the Roman Empire' (based on my PhD research) will be out with OUP this December! Interested? Pre-order now via global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Cover of the book 'Marginalized Religion and the Law in the Roman Empire', by K.P.S. Janssen. The background is an ochre yellow. The bottom left side of the cover is taken up by an ancient relief of Daniel in the lions' den, depicting a naked Daniel with his hands spread, standing up to his ankles in a pit with a lion on either side. Two figures in tunics or togas are standing behind him, with one of them carrying a basket.

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Adam Bishop @adammbishop.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Reading some 11th-century charters

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Kenneth F. Duggan 🇨🇦 @kfduggan.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

Agnes, daughter of Stephen, was accidentally killed when she was struck by the sail of a windmill in Herringswell, Suffolk, sometime around the year 1240. Accidents such as these (death by the arm of the windmill) are not common in the records I use in my research🧵1/3...

Two people working near a windmill from the fourteenth-century manuscript known as MS Bodley 264 (which is housed at the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford). One person is on a horse and seems perilously close to the windmill. The other is carrying a sack to the windmill.

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 28/09/2024

That language, by the way, is still in William & Mary's diplomas, which are in Latin. And by 1824, William & Mary had been using it for a long time. It appears in Jefferson's 1782 diploma. Before the Revolution, W&M's faculty was Oxford-heavy, so that may explain it.

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 28/09/2024

One thing has me curious is that the diploma says it was given in the "domo convocationis" (convocation house). I'm wondering if there was actually a space at William & Mary that was designated the "convocation house" or if they were copying Oxford, which does have a convocation house.

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 18/05/2024

We had a reception for graduation award recipients yesterday, so I set this out for the students who were being inducted into the Order of the Coif. Congratulations, class of 2024!

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Daniel F Gosling @thegozfather.bsky.social · 09/05/2024

Who was using the Court of Chancery during the civil wars and interregnum (1640-1660)? What sort of cases were brought? Want to find out? Applications now open for a funded PhD studentship supervised by David Foster (UCL Laws) and myself (TNA). www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DHI516/a...

jobs.ac.uk

AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) Studentship – Law & Equity in Flux: The Court of Chancery during the Civil War & Interregnum (c. 1640-1660) at UCL

jobs.ac.uk are now advertising a AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) Studentship – Law & Equity in Flux: The Court of Chancery during the Civil War & Interregnum (c. 1640-1660). Discover exc...

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Thomas McSweeney @mcsweeney1693.bsky.social · 01/05/2024

Ducks keep appearing on my name plate. Some of the new ones appear to be royal. And I'm pretty sure the guy on the end is a spy.

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