Barristers constituted the most powerful and prosperous professional group in early modern England. In the half-century before the calling of the Long Parliament in 1640, this branch of the legal profession grew rapidly and underwent profound structural change. Wilfrid Prest systematically examines the effects of these changes on the barrister's working life, along with the changing balance between supply and demand for his services during this formative period.Patterns of professional recruitment, training, and mobility have been reconstructed from the social origins and careers of some 500 individual lawyers, and separate chapters explore the participation of barristers in the cultural, religious, and political life of Elizabethan and early Stuart England. The book concludes by considering the nature and underlying causes of the largely unfavourable image of the early modern lawyer.

The half century before the calling of the Long Parliament in 1640 saw the bar undergo rapid growth and profound structural change. Wilfrid Prest's book examines the effects of these changes on the barrister's working life and explores the participation of barristers in the cultural , social, and political life of Elizabethan and early Stuart England. The book represents a detailed study of the most powerful and prosperous professional group in early modern England.

The Tudor and Stuart inns of court were major centres of learning and literature, as well as professional associations of practising lawyers. This book sketches the evolution of the inns from their medieval origins and traces the dramatic impact of the societies' rapid expansion through the Elizabethan era and beyond. Prest's comprehensive study based on original sources surveys the structure and functions of the inns, outlining key aspects, from tensions between junior and senior members to the nature and effectiveness of their educational role. Its lively prose locates the inns within the cultural, political, religious, and social context of Shakespearean and pre-civil war England. This corrected and revised second edition of a classic work addresses recent scholarship on the early modern inns of court and includes a new chapter introducing the book to twenty-first-century readers.

The Tudor and Stuart inns of court were major centres of learning and literature, as well as professional associations of practising lawyers. This book sketches the evolution of the inns from their medieval origins and traces the dramatic impact of the societies'' rapid expansion through the Elizabethan era and beyond. Prest''s comprehensive study based on original sources surveys the structure and functions of the inns, outlining key aspects, from tensions between junior and senior members to the nature and effectiveness of their educational role. Its lively prose locates the inns within the cultural, political, religious, and social context of Shakespearean and pre-civil war England. This corrected and revised second edition of a classic work addresses recent scholarship on the early modern inns of court and includes a new chapter introducing the book to twenty-first-century readers.

Barristers constituted the most powerful and prosperous professional group in early modern England. In the half-century before the calling of the Long Parliament in 1640, this branch of the legal profession grew rapidly and underwent profound structural change. Wilfrid Prest systematically examines the effects of these changes on the barrister's working life, along with the changing balance between supply and demand for his services during this formative period.Patterns of professional recruitment, training, and mobility have been reconstructed from the social origins and careers of some 500 individual lawyers, and separate chapters explore the participation of barristers in the cultural, religious, and political life of Elizabethan and early Stuart England. The book concludes by considering the nature and underlying causes of the largely unfavourable image of the early modern lawyer.

The half century before the calling of the Long Parliament in 1640 saw the bar undergo rapid growth and profound structural change. Wilfrid Prest's book examines the effects of these changes on the barrister's working life and explores the participation of barristers in the cultural , social, and political life of Elizabethan and early Stuart England. The book represents a detailed study of the most powerful and prosperous professional group in early modern England.

The Tudor and Stuart inns of court were major centres of learning and literature, as well as professional associations of practising lawyers. This book sketches the evolution of the inns from their medieval origins and traces the dramatic impact of the societies' rapid expansion through the Elizabethan era and beyond. Prest's comprehensive study based on original sources surveys the structure and functions of the inns, outlining key aspects, from tensions between junior and senior members to the nature and effectiveness of their educational role. Its lively prose locates the inns within the cultural, political, religious, and social context of Shakespearean and pre-civil war England. This corrected and revised second edition of a classic work addresses recent scholarship on the early modern inns of court and includes a new chapter introducing the book to twenty-first-century readers.

The Tudor and Stuart inns of court were major centres of learning and literature, as well as professional associations of practising lawyers. This book sketches the evolution of the inns from their medieval origins and traces the dramatic impact of the societies'' rapid expansion through the Elizabethan era and beyond. Prest''s comprehensive study based on original sources surveys the structure and functions of the inns, outlining key aspects, from tensions between junior and senior members to the nature and effectiveness of their educational role. Its lively prose locates the inns within the cultural, political, religious, and social context of Shakespearean and pre-civil war England. This corrected and revised second edition of a classic work addresses recent scholarship on the early modern inns of court and includes a new chapter introducing the book to twenty-first-century readers.