Gale Encyclopedia of American Law Volume 2 P12 fully illuminates today's leading cases, major statutes, legal terms and concepts, notable persons involved with the law, important documents and more. Legal issues are fully discussed in easy-to-understand language, including such high-profile topics as the Americans with Disabilities Act, capital punishment, domestic violence, gay and lesbian rights, physician-assisted suicide and thousands more. | 98 BRACTON HENRY DE Code within which a taxpayer falls based upon his or her taxable income. VBRACTON HENRY DE Henry de Bracton was a medieval jurist and priest whose masterful treatise on common law and procedure provided a framework for the early English legal system. Bracton s famous De legibus et consuetudi-nibus Angliae On the laws and customs of England was a systematic explanation of ENGLISH LAW for judges and practitioners during the reign of King Henry III. De legibus and another of Bracton s works Note-Book helped shape the system of CASE LAW and pleadings that began during the monarchy of King Henry II. Although reliance on Bracton s works declined as English statutory law grew historians consider De legibus the high point of medieval legal scholarship. Bracton s exact date of birth early in the thirteenth century is unknown. His family whose name sometimes appears as Bratton or Bretton owned land near Devon England. Richard Earl of Cornwall the brother of King Henry III and William de Raleigh a prominent common-law judge were important benefactors who helped advance Bracton s legal career. By 1240 Bracton had the job of civil servant a relatively lucrative position during the Middle Ages. In 1245 he was appointed to the judiciary. In 1247 he became a member of the King s Bench where he served for ten years. After 1257 he held several assignments including that of chancellor of Exeter Cathedral. During the Middle Ages it was not unusual for a priest to serve also as a judge. De legibus first appeared after Bracton s death in 1268. Although the original manuscript is lost approximately 300 reedited and hand copied manuscripts circulated during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Intended as a guide to English law and procedure De legibus combines aspects of Roman and canon law. Bracton was influenced by the Institutes of Justinian I and by medieval textbooks of Axo Tancred and Raymond of Penafort. His treatise includes a section of basic principles .
