Littleton, Sir Thomas

Littleton, Sir Thomas
born 1422, probably at Frankley, Worcestershire, Eng.
died Aug. 23, 1481, Frankley

British jurist.

In a turbulent period he held several high offices, including judge of the Court of Common Pleas (from 1466). His Littleton on Tenures (1481 or 1482) was the earliest treatise on English law ever printed. It long remained the principal authority on English real property law.

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▪ British jurist
Littleton also spelled  Lyttelton  or  Luttelton 
born 1422, probably at Frankley, Worcestershire, England
died August 23, 1481, Frankley

      jurist, author of Littleton on Tenures (or Treatise on Tenures), the first important English legal text neither written in Latin nor significantly influenced by Roman (civil) law (Roman law). An edition (1481 or 1482?) by John Lettou and William de Machlinia was doubtless the first book on English law to be printed. It long remained the principal authority on English real property law, and in the 20th century Littleton's work was still occasionally cited as authoritative.

      Throughout a turbulent period in English history, Littleton held several high offices: sheriff of Worcestershire; recorder of Coventry, Warwickshire; justice of assize (trial judge) on the Northern Circuit; and judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Common Pleas, Court of) (appointed by King Edward IV, 1466). In 1475 he was created a Knight of the Bath (Bath, The Most Honourable Order of the).

      Intended for the instruction of his second son, Richard, Littleton's Treatise subtly differentiates various kinds of medieval English land tenure. It was written in law French, a specialized form of Anglo-Norman. Sir Edward Coke (Coke, Sir Edward) held Littleton's work in high esteem and wrote an extensive commentary on it.

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