John Barkesdale's 1628 Bankruptcy Reading at Lincoln's Inn: The Transcription, Translation and Interpretation of a Discourse on 21 Jac. C.19

Abstract

The volume of primary source material touching seventeenth century insolvency law and practice and adjunct commercial areas is not insubstantial. The material also includes bankruptcy documents. There are also documents extant on the education of practitioners in relation to the law of bankruptcy in the Inns of Court. As the practice of insolvency law is incontrovertibly linked to the attendant areas of trade, credit, and debt it is interesting to mull on the preparation that intending practitioners went through before practice and whilst in practice. In this regard we may consider the training of sergeants, barristers, attorneys, solicitors and so forth. The seventeenth century saw a particular burst of activity in this legal educational discourse. Handwritten, generally by students, the Readings provide an intriguing insight into the practical application of seventeenth century insolvency laws and allow a glimpse into the education of seventeenth century practitioners and their professional development in the field of insolvency law. The nineteen readings discussed in this article were delivered in Gray's Inn, Inner Temple, Lincoln's Inn and Middle Temple between 1601 and 1695. John Barkesdale's reading of 1628 is transcribed and critically analysed.

Keywords: readings, inns of court, bankruptcy, insolvency, debtor, creditor, education, barrister, reader

JEL Classification: K00