Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.
This article argues that Lady Anne Cliffordâs 1616â1619 diaries, which chronicle not only her lawsuit to inherit her family lands and titles but also her daily practices, form part of Cliffordâs lifelong obsession with legal and extralegal ways of establishing herself as a landowner. While her records of frequent walking and praying âabroad,â or outdoors, and of her prodigious reading may seem distinct from her famous lawsuit, they possess a genealogical significance that signals her profound connection to her property. Cliffordâs archives reveal her extensive knowledge of English common law, the legal system that backed her claims. Her enduring engagement with English common law influences the generic form of the diaries, with their repetitive documentation of her land-based practices. Just as common law garnered authority and meaning through its status as âcustom,â Cliffordâs diaries express the hope that her own customs would one day obtain the force of law. In this way, Cliffordâs diaries evince a unique instance of what J. G. A. Pocock has called âthe common-law mind.â
Studies in Philology – University of North Carolina Press
Published: Jul 3, 2014
Read and print from thousands of top scholarly journals.
Already have an account? Log in
Bookmark this article. You can see your Bookmarks on your DeepDyve Library.
To save an article, log in first, or sign up for a DeepDyve account if you don’t already have one.
Copy and paste the desired citation format or use the link below to download a file formatted for EndNote
Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
All DeepDyve websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.