R.H. Helmholz
Ruth Wyatt Rosenson Distinguished Service Professor of Law
1111 East 60th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
phone: 773-702-9580
email: dick_helmholz@law.uchicago.edu

Publications (Books | Articles)

Books

Marriage Litigation in Medieval England, pb. ed. (Cambridge UP 2007).

Roman Canon Law in Reformation England, pb. ed. (Cambridge UP 2004).

The Canon Law and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction from 597 to the 1640s (Oxford History of the Laws of England, Vol. 1) (Oxford 2004).

The ius commune in England: Four Studies (Oxford University Press 2001).

Fundamentals of Property Law (Charlottesville 1999) (with Barlow Burke and Ann M. Burkhart).

Itinera Fiduciae: Trust and Treuhand in Historical Perspective (Berlin 1998) (with Reinhard Zimmermann, editor and contributor).

The Privilege against Self-Incrimination: its Origins and Development (Chicago 1997) (with Charles M. Gray et al.).

The Spirit of Classical Canon Law (Athens, Georgia 1996).

Canon Law in Protestant Lands (Berlin 1992) (editor and contributor).

Notaries Public in England since the Reformation (London 1991) (with C. W. Brooks and P. G. Stein); translated as Notai in Inghilterra prima e dopo la Riforma (Milan 1991).

Roman Canon Law in Reformation England (Cambridge 1990).

Canon Law and the Law of England (London 1987).

Select Cases on Defamation to 1600, Selden Society, Vol. 101 (London 1985).

Canon Law and English Common Law (London 1983).

Marriage Litigation in Medieval England (Cambridge 1974) (reprinted Holmes Beach, Florida, 1986).

Articles

"The Law of Nature and the Early History of Unenumerated Rights in the United States," 9 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law 401 (2007).

"Marriage Agreements in Medieval England," in To Have and To Hold: Marrying and its Documentation in Western Christendom, 400-1600, Philip Reynolds and John Witte, Jr. eds. (Cambridge 2007).

"Foreward," in The Rise and Fall of the English Ecclesiastical Courts, 1500-1860, R. B. Outhwaite, ed. (Cambridge 2006).

"The Ratio decidendi in England – Evidence from the Civilian Tradition," in Ratio Decidendi: Guiding Principles of Judicial Decisions, W. Hamilton Bryson and Serge Dauchy eds. (Berlin 2006).

Review of Elizabeth M. Makowski, “A Pernicious Sort of Woman”: Quasi-Religious Women and Canon Lawyers in the Later Middle Ages, 24 Legal & History Review 676 (2006).

"Thomas More and the Canon Law," in Medieval Church Law and the Origins of the Western Legal Tradition: A Tribute to Kenneth Pennington, Wolfgang Müller and Mary Sommar eds. (Washington, D.C. 2006).

"Ockham's Razor in American Law," 21 Tulane European and Civil Law Forum 109 (2006).

"Scots Law in the New World: Its Place in the Formative Era of American Law," in Miscellany V, 52 Stair Society 169 (Hector MacQueen ed., Edinburgh 2006).

Review of Paul Mitchell, The Making of the Modern Law of Defamation, 27 Journal of Legal History 211 (2006).

Review of David D’Avray, Medieval Marriage: Symbolism and Society, 121 English History Review 1444 (2006).

"The Law of Charity and the English Ecclesiastical Courts," in Foundations of Medieval Ecclesiastical History: Sudies presented to David Smith 111 (Philippa Hoskin et al. eds., Woodbridge 2005).

Review of Paul Brand, Kings, Barons and Justices: The Making and Enforcement of Legislation in Thirteenth-century England, 36 Albion 665 (2005).

Review of James A. Brundage, The Profession and Practice of Medieval Canon Law, 56 Journal Ecclesiastical History 765 (2005).

"Natural Law and Human Rights in English Law: From Bracton to Blackstone," 3 Ave Maria Law Review 1 (2005).

Review of Andreas Richter, Rechtsfähige Stiftung und Charitable Corporation, 72 Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis 160 (2004).

"The ius commune and Sanctuary for Insolvent Debtors in England," in Panta Rei: Studi dedicati a Manlio Bellomo, (Orazio Condorelli ed. 2004).

"The Saga of Van Valkenburgh v. Lutz: Animosity and Adverse Possession in Yonkers," in Property Stories, Gerald Korngold and Andrew Morriss, eds. (2004).

"Clerke, Francis," 12 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 52 (2004).

"Lyndwood, William," 34 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 892 (2004).

"Natural Human Rights: The Perspective of the Ius Commune, 52 Cath. U. L. Rev. 301 (2003).

"Judges and trials in the English ecclesiastical courts," in Judicial tribunals in England and Europe, 1200-1700, Vol. 1, Maureen Mulholland and Brian Pullan eds. (Manchester 2003).

"Christopher St German and the Law of Custom," 70 U. Chi. L. Rev. 70 (2003).

Canonical Remedies in Medieval Marriage Law: The Contributions of Legal Practice, 1 U. St. Thomas L. Rev. 647 (2003)

El privilegio y el ius commune: de la Edad Media al siglo XVII, in: 15 Cuadernos de doctrina y juriprudencia penal 269 (2003).

Canonical 'Juries' in Medieval England, in: Ins Wasser geworfen und Ozeane durchquert: Festschrift f r Knut Wolfgant Nörr (Mario Ascheri et al.eds. 2003)

"Discipline of the Clergy: Medieval and Modern," 6 Ecclesiastical L. J. 189 (2002).

Review of Mary E. Basile, Jane F. Bestor, Daniel Coquillette, and Charles Donahue, Jr., Lex mercatoria and Legal Pluralism: a Late Thirteenth-Century Treatise and its Afterlife (1998), in 77 Speculum 137 (2002).

"Money and Judges in the Law of the Medieval Church," 8 U. of Chicago Law School Roundtable 309 (2001).

Review of Jane E. Sayers, Original Papal Documents in England and Wales from the Accession of Pope Innocent III to the Death of Pope Benedict XI (1198-1304), 118 Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte: Kan. Abt. 543 (2001).

Review of D. J. Ibbetson, Historical Introduction to the Law of Obligations, 22 J. Legal Hist. 72 (2001).

Review of M. Duynstee, R. Feenstra, and L. Waelkens, Repertorium bibliographicum institutorum et sodalitum iuris historiae, 69 Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis 411 (2001).

"Richard Hooker and the European ius commune," 6 Ecclesiastical L. J. 4 (2001). "Law, Canon," in Tudor England: An Encyclopedia, Arthur F. Kinney and David Swain, eds. (Garland Publishing 2001).

"The litis contestatio: Its Survival in the Medieval ius commune and Beyond," in Lex et Romanitas: Essays for Alan Watson, Michael Hoeflich, ed. (University of California Press 2000).

"Brian Simpson in the United States," in Human Rights and Legal History: Essays in Honour of Brian Simpson, Katherine O'Donovan and G. R. Rubin, eds. (Oxford University Press 2000).

"Independence and University in England's Manorial Courts," in Seigneurial Jurisdiction, Lloyd Bonfield, ed. (Dunker & Humblot Press 2000).

"Scandinavian Law and English Law: An Historical Sketch and a Present Opportunity," in Family Marriage and Property Devolution in the Middle Ages, Lars Ivar Hansen, ed. (University of Trømso Press 2000).

Review of Peter Stein, Roman Law in European History, 51 J. Ecclesiastical History 367 (2000).

Review of Frank Roumy, L'Adoption dans le droit savant du XIIe au XVI siècle, 117 Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte: Kan. Abt. 575 (2000).

Review of Patrick Wormald, The Making of English Law: King Alfred to the Twelfth Century, 32 Albion 274 (2000).

The Canon Law, in: Cambridge History of the Book in Britain, Volume III, 1400-1557, 387 (Cambridge 1999).

"Magna Carta and the ius commune," 66 U. Chi. L. Rev. 297 (1999).

"The Education of English Proctors, 1600-1640," in Learning the Law: Teaching and the Transmission of Law in England 1150-1900, Jonathan Bush and Alain Wijffels, eds. (London 1999).

"Realism and Formalism in the Severance of Joint Tenancies," 77 Neb. L. Rev. 1 (1998).

"Spanish and English ecclesiastical courts (1300-1500)," 28 Studia Gratiana 415 (1998).

"The Canons of 1603: The Contemporary Understanding," in English Canon Law: Essays in Honour of Bishop Eric Kemp, 23, Norman Doe, et al., eds. (Cardiff 1998).

"Harboring Sexual Offenders: Ecclesiastical Courts and Controlling Misbehavior," 37 J. of British Studies 258 (1998).

"The Universal and the Particular in Medieval Canon Law," in Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress of Medieval Canon Law 641, Peter Landau and J. Müller, eds. (Vatican City 1997).

"Records and Reports: the English Ecclesiastical Courts," in Case Law in the Making: the Techniques and Methods of Judicial Records and Law Reports Vol. I:83 and Vol. II:85, Alain Wijffels, ed. (Berlin 1997).

"Les officialités anglo-saxonnes et la culture juridique latine: approches historiennes," 38 L'Année canonique 97 (1996).

"The Learned Laws in 'Pollock and Maitland'," 89 Proceedings of the British Academy 145 (1996).

"Canon Law as a Means of Legal Integration in the Development of English Law," in Die Bedeutung des kanonischen Rechts für die Entwicklung einheitlicher Rechtsprinzipien 49, Heinrich Scholler, ed. (1996).

"Excommunication and the Angevin Leap Forward," 7 Haskins Society J. 133 (1977 for 1975).

"Der Usus modernus Pandectarum und die Ursprünge des eigenhändigen Testaments in England," 4 Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht 769 (1995).

"The Bible in the Service of the Canon Law," 70 Chicago-Kent L. Rev. 1557 (1995).

"Excommunication in Twelfth Century England," 11 J. Law and Religion 235 (1994-95).

"Ecclesiastical Lawyers and the English Reformation," 3 Ecclesiastical L.J. 360 (1995).

"The Transmission of Legal Institutions: English Law, Roman Law, and Handwritten Wills," 20 Syracuse J. of International Law & Commerce 147 (1994).

"The Origin of Holographic Wills in English Law,"15 J. of Legal Hist. 97 (1994).

"Other Diocesan and Lesser Church Courts," in The Records of the Medieval Ecclesiastical Courts Part II 153, Charles Donahue, Jr., ed. (Berlin 1994).

"Legal Formalism, Substantive Policy, and the Creation of a Canon Law of Prescription," in Prescriptive Formality and Normative Rationality in Modern Legal Systems: Festschrift for Robert Summers 265, Werner Krawietz, et al., eds. (Berlin 1994).

"And Were there Children's Rights in early modern England? The Canon law and 'intra-family violence' in England, 1400-1640," 1 International J. of Children's Rights 23 (1993).

"Married Women's Wills in Later Medieval England," in Wife & Widow in Medieval England 165, Sue Sheridan Walker, ed. (Ann Arbor 1993).

"Harold Berman's Accomplishment as a Legal Historian," 42 Emory L. J. 475 (1993), edited and reprinted as "The Character of the Western Legal Tradition," in The Integrative Jurisprudence of Harold J. Berman 29, Howard O. Hunter, ed. (1996).

"The Library in Guercino's Portrait of a Lawyer," 30-31 Accademia Clementina: atti e memorie 184 (1992).

"Bailment Theories and the Liability of Bailees: the Elusive Uniform Standard of Reasonable Care," 41 Univ. of Kansas L. Rev. 97 (1992).

"Use of the Civil Law in Post-Revolutionary American Jurisprudence," 66 Tulane L. Rev. 1649 (1992).

"The English Law of Wills and the ius commune," in Marriage, Property and Succession 309, Lloyd Bonfield, ed. (Berlin 1992).

"Conflicts between Religious and Secular Law: Common Themes in the English Experience, 1250-1640," 12 Cardozo L. Rev. 707 (1991).

"Continental Law and Common Law: Historical Strangers or Companions?" 1990 Duke L.J. 1207 (1990).

"Contracts and the Canon Law," in Towards a General Law of Contract 49, John Barton, ed. (Berlin 1990).

"Origins of the Privilege against self-incrimination: the Role of the European ius commune," 65 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 962 (1990).

"Spanish Records," in The Records of the Medieval Ecclesiastical Courts: Part I 179, Charles Donahue, Jr., ed. (Berlin 1989).

"'Si quis suadente' (C.17 q.4 c.29): Theory and Practice," in Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress of Medieval Canon Law, Peter Linehan, ed. (Vatican City 1988).

"Damages in Actions for Slander at Common Law," 103 Law Q. Rev. 624 (1987).

"Wrongful Possession of Chattels: Hornbook Law and Case Law," 80 Northwestern L. Rev. 1221 (1986) (excerpted and reprinted in A Property Anthology, Richard H. Chused ed. (1993)).

"Usury and the Medieval English Church Courts," 61 Speculum 364 (1986).

"The Sons of Edward IV: a Canonical Assessment of the claim that they were Illegitimate," in Richard III: Loyalty, Lordship and Law, P. W. Hammond, ed. (London 1986).

"More on Subjective Intent: a Response to Professor Cunningham, "64 Wash. U. L. Q. 65 (1986).

"Legitim in English Legal History," 1984 lllinois L. Rev. 659.

"Recurrent Patterns of Family Law," 8 Harv. J. Law & Public Policy 175 (1984).

"Civil Trials," in Juries, Libel and Justice: The Role of English Juries in Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Trials for Libel and Slander (Clark Library, Los Angeles 1984).

"Equitable Division and the Law of Finders," 52 Fordham L. Rev. 313 (1983).

"Adverse Possession and Subjective Intent," 61 Wash. U. L. Q. 331 (1983) (excerpted and reprinted in A Property Anthology, Richard H. Chused, ed., 2d ed. (1997)).

"Bankruptcy and Probate Jurisdiction before 1571," 48 Mo. L. Rev. 415 (1983).

"Crime, Compurgation and the Courts of the Medieval Church," 1 Law and Hist. Rev. 1 (1983).

"Excommunication as a Legal Sanction: Attitudes of the Medieval Canonists," 112 Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, Kan. Abt. 202 (1982).

"Advances and Altered Perspectives in English Legal History," 95 Harvard L. Rev. 723 (1982).

"The Writ of Prohibition to Court Christian before 1500," 43 Mediaeval Studies 297 (1981).

"Early Enforcement of Uses," 79 Columbia L. Rev. 1503 (1979).

"Debt Claims and Probate Jurisdiction in Historical Perspective," 23 Am. J of Legal Hist. 68 (1979).

"Roman Law of Guardianship in England, 1300-1600," 52 Tulane L. Rev. 223 (1978).

"Support Orders, Church Courts, and the Rule of Filius Nullius: A Reassessment of the Common Law," 63 Va. L. Rev. 431 (1977).

"Writs of Prohibition and Ecclesiastical Sanctions in the English Courts Christian," 60 Minn. L. Rev. 1011 (1976).

"Ethical Standards for Advocates and Proctors in Theory and Practice," in Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of Medieval Canon Law 283, S. Kuttner, ed., (Vatican City 1976).

"Assumpsit and Fidei Laesio," 91 Law Q. Rev. 460 (1975).

"Infanticide in the Province of Canterbury During the Fifteenth Century," 2 Hist. of Childhood Q. 379 (1975).

"Abjuration sub pena nubendi," 32 The Jurist 80 (1972).

"Canonical Defamation in Medieval England," 15 Am. J. of Legal Hist. 255 (1971).

"Canonists and Standards of Impartiality for Papal Judges Delegate," 25 Traditio 386 (1969).

"Bastardy Litigation in Medieval England," 13 Am. J. of Legal Hist. 360 (1969).