"THE FIRST SYSTEMATIC AND DETAILED EXPOSITION OF SCOTS CRIMINAL LAW": ONE OF THE EARLIEST STUDIES OF CRIMINAL LAW IN GENERAL, 1678 FIRST EDITION OF MACKENZIE'S LAWS AND CUSTOMS

MACKENZIE, George. The Laws and Customes of Scotland in Matters Criminal. Edinburgh: George Swintoun, 1678. Octavo, contemporary full brown calf, raised bands, old paper spine label, marbled edges. $2500.

First edition of "Bloody Mackenzie's" Laws and Customes of Scotland, one of the earliest systematic studies of criminal law, with an important chapter on witchcraft, in unrestored contemporary calf.

Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh, better known as "Bloody Mackenzie" for abusing his position as King's Advocate to strike out against religious fanaticism during the persecution of covenanters in Scotland, was curiously also called "the noble wit of Scotland" by Dryden. "Mackenzie's career as public prosecutor can only be defended if in law, as in love and war, 'all things are fair.' His eager interest in constitutional history, and his overbearing temper, are partly accountable for his misuse of legal forms; and his hatred of religious fanaticism verged on fanaticism. But he was well equipped with common sense, and his efforts to prevent the torture of witches are to his credit. He was devoted to literature and learning" (DNB). "Concerns for legal transparency had also underpinned Mackenzie's Laws and Customs of Scotland in Matters Criminal (1678), which provided the first systematic and detailed exposition of Scots criminal law. Prioritizing the authority of penal statutes, Mackenzie's aspiration was 'that nothing were a Crime which is not declared to be so, by a Statute,' since that would render 'Subjects inexcusable, and prevent the arbitrariness of Judges' (Laws and Customs, 1.1.3)" (ODNB). With privilege leaf; title page printed in red and black. Wing M165. Walker, 792. Marvin, 485. Harvard Law Catalogue II, 14. Owner ink signature to title page.

Interior fresh and clean; minor wear to spine ends, rubbing to extremities. A very good copy in unrestored contemporary calf binding.