William Staunford [Stanford, Stamford] (1509 – 1558) was a sixteenth century English politician, judge and jurist. Tottel printed several editions of both his notable writings.
Les plees del coron: diuisees in plusiours titles & common lieux. Per queux home plus redement & plenaireme[n]t trouera, quelq[ue] chose que il quira, touchant les dits plees. Composees per le tresreuerend iudge Monsieur Guilliaulme Staunforde Chiuauler, dernierm[en]t corrigee auecques vn table parfaicte des choses notables contenues en ycelle, et iammais per cy deuant imprimee.
1560 English Short Title Catalogue record
1567 English Short Title Catalogue record
1574 English Short Title Catalogue record
1583 English Short Title Catalogue record
Les Plees del Coron is a textbook on criminal law and was written shortly after Staunford was appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1554 . The work details the development of modern criminal law from its medieval origins to the 16th century. The title refers to the method of bringing suspected serious criminal offences to the attention of the monarch, a “plea to the crown ” as only the monarch and his or her representatives had the right to deal with serious criminal cases.
Staunford’s work is structured around material gathered from the “Corone” (criminal law) section in Fitzherbert’s La graunde abridgment, and cites Bracton, Glanvill and the Year Books. It was the first legal textbook to adopt the practice of citing specific authorities for every proposition
The Royal Courts of Justice Library’s copy is bound together with Staunford’s other book, Exposicion of the Kinges Prerogative. The Tarlton Law Library’s copies of the two works are similarly bound together, however they are in the reverse order with the Plees del Coron appearing second.
An exposicion of the kinges prerogatiue collected out of the great abridgement of Iustice Fitzherbert and other olde writers of the lawes of Englande, by the right woorshipfull sir William Staunford Knight, lately one of the iustices of the Queenes maiesties court of comon pleas: whereunto is annexed the proces to the same prerogatiue appertaining.
1567 English Short Title Catalogue record
1568 English Short Title Catalogue record
1573 English Short Title Catalogue record
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1590 English Short Title Catalogue record
Exposicion of the Kinges Prerogative, was first published in 1567 but was written in 1548. The work is based on Prerogativa regis, a thirteenth century law recording the customary privileges of the crown. Staunford again drew heavily on Fitzherbert, this time the section titled “Prerogative”. Glanvill, Bracton and the Year Books were also cited as authorities. The work is dedicated to Nicholas Bacon (1510 – 1579) a prominent lawyer and adviser to Elizabeth and the 1568 edition includes prefaces by both Tottel and Staunford addressed to Bacon.
Staunford is also thought to be the editor of first printed edition of The Tractatus de legibus et consuetudinibus regni Anglie (Treatise on the Laws and Customs of the Kingdom of England), which Tottel print in 1554 (see Bracton & Glanvill).
Richard Tottel 