Lawyers at Play: Literature, Law, and Politics at the Early Modern Inns of Court, 1558-1581

The Inns of Court were literary centers in the early modern period, especially during the reign of Elizabeth I. This study argues that the literary culture of the Inns intensified in decades of profound transformation in the legal profession, and that the literary surge at this time developed out of and responded to a period of rapid expansion in the legal profession and in the career prospects of members. Poetry, translation, and performance were recreational pastimes, but they also defined and elevated the status of inns-of-court men as qualified, learned, and ethical participants in England's legal magistracy.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 29 September 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Early modern poets and playwrights played a significant role in shaping the development of key genres of the English Renaissance, particularly lyric poetry, dramatic tragedy, satire, and masque. These authors were also members of the legal societies known as the Inns of Court, which played a crucial role in their literary endeavors. However, the question of how the Inns became literary centers and why they were particularly vibrant at certain times has long been a subject of debate. Early modernists have long recognized the importance of urban settings and institutional environments in this phenomenon. In the bustling world of London, educated men with ample free time turned to literary pastimes as a means of entertainment.

Lawyers at Play, a groundbreaking study, proposes an additional and essential dynamic to this phenomenon. Focusing on the first decade of Elizabeth's reign, when a large literary network first developed around the Inns, the study demonstrates that the literary surge at this time emerged from and responded to a period of rapid expansion in the legal profession and in the career prospects of members. Poetry, translation, and performance were recreational pastimes, but they also defined and elevated the status of inns-of-court men as qualified, learned, and ethical participants in England's legal magistracy.

Those lawyers, judges, justices of the peace, civic office holders, town recorders, and gentleman landholders who managed and administered local and national governance of England were considered members of the Inns of Court. Lawyers at Play maps the literary terrain of a formative but understudied period in the English Renaissance, providing valuable insights into the connections between the literary and legal cultures of the Inns.

Moreover, the study extends beyond the 1560s to offer a framework for understanding the broader
connections between the literary and legal cultures of the Inns. By examining the literary culture of the Inns during this period, we can gain a deeper understanding of the broader cultural and social context in which the English Renaissance unfolded. The Inns of Court played a pivotal
crucial role in shaping the development of English literature and culture, and Lawyers at Play offers a valuable contribution to our understanding of this important period.

Weight: 442g
Dimension: 234 x 153 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192872326