There are 16 different sets of reports of cases from the Court of the King's Bench for the first two years in the reign of Charles I. None of them is very good, says Bryson (law, Richmond U., Virginia) but none is useless to legal historians. Here he presents the first publication of the reports by Paynell (1602-77), who was called to the bar halfway through the period he covers. The evidence is pretty clear that he wrote the reports himself rather than copying them, though a few of the 287 reports have found their way into other collections. Extensive footnotes explain contemporary references and refer to other cases and sources. Published by the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies as part of its admirable effort to make texts affordable to schools and scholars of modest means. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Read Less