Noted as one of the ablest and exacting historians of his generation, this selection of historical essays by F. W. Maitland is designed to render more accessible those shorter writings of Maitland's which have the greatest intrinsic value for students of history. While best illustrating his distinctive qualities, it thus serves to stimulate a taste for his greater works. Except for Essay VII, Maitland's notes are given in full, with only slight corrections made necessary by the reclassification of historical records or the detection of some small error of fact.
