Robin Chapman Stacey is Professor of History at the University of Washington. Her book The Road to Judgment: From Custom to Court in Medieval Ireland and Wales, also published by the University of Pennsylvania Press, was awarded the John Nicholas Brown Prize of the Medieval Academy of America.

"An extremely important, learned, and very thoughtful book that addresses a central issue . . . being hotly debated across the social scientific spectrum, among historians, anthropologists, sociologists, and others: the significance of language and performance in understanding traditional societies generally." (Patrick Geary, University of California, Los Angeles) "The best history book I have read in a very long time. It is full of important ideas based on impressive research expressed in prose that is not dark but clear and amiable." (Law and History Review)

• IntroductionChapter One: The Play's the ThingChapter Two: Jurists on StageChapter Threee: The Power of the WordChapter Four: Voicing OverChapter Five: Voices Within the LawConclusion: The Dangers of PerformanceList of AbbreviationsNotesBibliographyIndexAcknowledgments

Robin Chapman Stacey is Professor of History at the University of Washington. Her book The Road to Judgment: From Custom to Court in Medieval Ireland and Wales, also published by the University of Pennsylvania Press, was awarded the John Nicholas Brown Prize of the Medieval Academy of America.

"An extremely important, learned, and very thoughtful book that addresses a central issue . . . being hotly debated across the social scientific spectrum, among historians, anthropologists, sociologists, and others: the significance of language and performance in understanding traditional societies generally." (Patrick Geary, University of California, Los Angeles) "The best history book I have read in a very long time. It is full of important ideas based on impressive research expressed in prose that is not dark but clear and amiable." (Law and History Review)

• IntroductionChapter One: The Play's the ThingChapter Two: Jurists on StageChapter Threee: The Power of the WordChapter Four: Voicing OverChapter Five: Voices Within the LawConclusion: The Dangers of PerformanceList of AbbreviationsNotesBibliographyIndexAcknowledgments