The Interpreter of Words and Terms, Used Either in the Common or.

London: Printed for W. Battersby, 1701. The Best English Law Dictionary of the Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Centuries Cowell, John [1554-1611]. Manley, Thomas [1628-1690], Editor. The Interpreter of Words and Terms, Used Either in the Common or Statute Laws of this Realm, And in Tenures and Jocular Customs: With an Appendix, Containing the Antient Names of Places in England, Very Necessary for the Use of all Young Students, That Converse with Antient Deeds, Charters, &c. First Publish'd by the Learned Dr. Cowel, in the Year 1607. And Continu'd by Tho. Manley of the Middle Temple, Esq; To the Year 1684. Now Further Augmented and Improv'd, by the Addition of Many Thousand Words, (Distinguished thus [pointing hand]) as are Found in our Histories, Antiquities, Cartularies, Rolls, Registers, And Other Manuscript Records, Not Hitherto Explain'd in Any Dictionary. London: Printed for W. Battersby, 1701. [352] pp. Main text in double columns. Folio (12-3/4" x 8"; 32 x 20 cm). Recent period-style morocco over marbled boards, raised bands and lettering piece to spine, endpapers renewed. Light browning to interior, light foxing in a few places, light soiling to title page. A very good copy. $500. * Augmented reissue of Manley's second edition, 1684. The Interpreter was the standard law dictionary until Jacob's A New Law-Dictionary (1729). However, its publication in 1607 provoked intense controversy. At a time when Parliament and James I were vying for power, the House of Commons was angered by Cowell's royalist sympathies, which were evident in such definitions as "King," "Parliament," "Prerogative," "Recoveries," and "Subsidies." When a joint committee of Lords and Councilors reviewed the work, the ensuing controversy nearly halted the affairs of government. The king intervened in fear that his own fiscal interests would not be approved by Parliament, and ordered a proclamation that imprisoned Cowell, ended publication of the book and ordered all copies burned by a public hangman on March 10, 1610. It remained in use, however, and it went through several editions. Later enlarged editions, such as this one, are valuable references for scholars of early English legal texts. English Short-Title Catalogue T167098.…