Twelve Good Men and True brings together some of the most ambitious and innovative work yet undertaken on the history of an English legal institution. These eleven essays examine the composition of the criminal trial jury in England, the behavior of those who sat as jurors, and popular and official attitudes toward the institution of jury trial from its almost accidental emergence in the early thirteenth century until 1800. The essays have important implications for three problems central to the history of criminal justice administration in England: the way in which the medieval jury was informed and reached its verdict; the degree and form of independence enjoyed by juries during the early modern period when the powers of the bench were very great; and the role of the eighteenth-century trial jury, which, although clearly independent, was, by virtue of the status and experience of its members, arguably a mere extension of the bench. This extensive collection marks the first occasion on which scholars working in several different time periods have focused their attention on the history of a single legal institution. Written by J. M. Beattie, J. S. Cockburn, Thomas A. Green, Roger D. Groot, Douglas Hay, P.J.R. King, P. G. Lawson, Bernard William McLane, J. B. Post, Edward Powell, and Stephen K. Roberts, the essays utilize sophisticated techniques to establish from a variety of manuscript sources the wealth, status, and administrative experience of jurors. Originally published in 1988. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Product Description: For the folklorists and linguists who are serious students of what has been designated "a minor genre," the riddle is, in fact, a complex linguistic and aesthetic structure that, when subjected to systematic and scientific study, reveals a great deal about the major human systems-such as language, culture, and art-with which it is inextricably bound up...read more

Product Description: Memoir

Product Description: Latino Americans have a powerful voice in society and a wealth of cultural traditions. Fundamental to those traditions are numerous folktales. Some are funny, some draw upon the supernatural, some look back on ancestral ways, and some capture the experience of Latinos in the United States...read more

Product Description: African American culture has a rich tradition of folktales. Written for students and general readers, this volume gathers a sampling of the most important African American folktales. Included are nearly 50 tales grouped in thematic chapters on origins; heroes, heroines, villains, and fools; society and conflict; and the supernatural...read more

Product Description: Folktales are at the heart of Native American culture. Prepared especially for students and general readers, this book conveniently collects 31 of the most important Native American folktales. These are drawn from the major Native American cultural and geographical areas and are organized in sections on origins; heroes, heroines, villains, and fools; society and conflict; and the supernatural...read more

Arranged by geographical regions, an anthology of American folktales offers legends, myths, folktalkes, jokes, and personal experiences.

Product Description: There is no better way for students to learn about cultural diversity than to study the folklore and folkways of different ethnic groups. The work of over 200 expert contributors, this massive encyclopedia authoritatively and engagingly surveys folklife and traditions from around the world...read more

'Did you know that the martial arts include such former Western pursuits as dueling, gunfighting, and gladiatorial combat? Nearly 100 articles by scholars discuss specific martial arts, countries, and concepts such as religion and spiritual development common to martial arts traditions of the world. Definitions of unfamiliar terms and an index that notes the historical figures and classic texts dicussed within articles help to make this set a scholarly corrective in an area often informed by the movies.'--'Outstanding Reference Sources,' American Libraries, May 2002. (view table of contents)

'From anecdotes, boasts, and children's stories to urban tall tales, vampires, and Xerox-lore, this superb scholarly dictionary illuminates the historical and contemporary form, figures, and fields of folklore. In over 240 in-depth articles by leading scholars, basic cultural concepts, academic theories and methodologies, supernatural creatures and stereotypical characters are discussed with regard to the field of folklore. This cross-cultural study emcompasses literary and oral traditions as well as music, art, architecture, foodways, and other customs.'--'Outstanding Reference Sources : the 1999 Selection of New Titles', American Libraries, May 1999. Comp. by the Reference Sources Committee, USA, ALA.Entries cover all aspects of folklore and the types of analysis relevant to their study, including such headings as eschatology, fakelore, gossip, life history, mumming, and personal experience narrative (view table of contents)