La graunde abridgement, collecte par le iudge tresreuerend mo[n]sieur Anthony Fitzherbert, dernierment conferre ouesque la copye escript et per ceo correcte, ouesque le nombre del fueil, per quel facilement poies trouer les cases cy abrydges en les liuers dans, nouelmen annote: iammais deuaunt imprimes. Auxi vous troueres les residuums de lauter liuer places icy in ceo liuer en le fyne de lour apte titles.
1565 English Short Title Catalogue record
1577 English Short Title Catalogue record
Anthony Fitzherbert (c. 1470–1538) was a leading 16th century English judge and legal writer. La graunde abridgement, was originally printed by John Rastell (see Termes of the Laws of Englande) in three parts under the title Magnum abbreviamentum (1514—1517). The work provided a digest of over 13,000 cases from the Year Books arranged alphabetically and by topic. Tottel printed the abridgement in 1565 and again in a smaller format in 1577. This publication is an example of the work Tottel did to regularise legal citations. By providing uniform foliation in all editions, Tottel made it possible for readers to cite to the exact location of a case in related works. The Tartlon Law Library in Texas has a exhibition, Imprinted at the Signe of the Hand and Starre: Richard Tottell and Sixteenth Century Legal Citation which details the work Tottel did to standardise citations. This exhibition also demonstrates how abridgements were used. Fitzherbert’s work was to some extent overtaken by Brooke’s Abridgement (1573), which contained more recent material and marginal headings.
The copy pictured below is the a 1565 edition held by the Royal Courts of Justice Library.
La novel natura brevium was a shorter, but perhaps more interesting work by Fitzherbert which was first published towards the end of his life in 1534. It was inspired by the so-called ‘old Natura brevium’ some medieval treatises, or lecture courses, on writs but was a new treatment and much more detailed, with references both to recent cases and to the abridgement. Tottel printed editions in both English and Law French.
Title-page of a copy of Tottel’s 1557 English language edition from the British Library collection.
Le nouel natura breuium du Iudge tresreuerende Monsieur Anthony Fitzherbert, denierment renue & corrigee per laucteur, auecques vn table perfect des choses notables contenus en ycel, nouelment compose per Guilliaulme Rastall
1553 English Short Title Catalogue record
1560 English Short Title Catalogue record
1576 English Short Title Catalogue record
1581 English Short Title Catalogue record
1588 English Short Title Catalogue record
Natura breuium newly corrected, in Englishe : with diuers addicions of statutes, booke cases, plees in abatementes of the saide writtes, and their declaracio[n]s, and barres to the same added and put in their places moste co[n]uenient.
1557 English Short title Catalogue record
This text remained the principal reference work on writs until the abolition of the forms of action in the nineteenth century. The editions published by Tottel were the first to include the new table that William Rastell (see Termes of the Laws of Englande and Rastell) worked on while in exile. These tables are displayed in detail in the Tarlton Law Library exhibition on Tottel.
There is a digitised copy of Tottel’s 1557 English edition.
Richard Tottel 