The Law Bod Blog

The Law Bod Blog, published by Bodleian Libraries, covers a variety of legal history topics, archival research guides, and insights into historical and contemporary legal issues. It includes discussions on legal reforms, parliamentary debates, and the social context of laws, such as the 1921 Criminal Law Amendment Act and its implications for LGBTQ+ history. The blog also offers practical advice for law students and researchers on using legal resources like the SOLO catalogue and explores intersections of law with cultural and social history, including crime, protest, and legal treatment of marginalized groups. It draws extensively on Bodleian's rich archival collections and official legal documents.

Latest from The Law Bod Blog

Your gateway to locating law resources in Oxford libraries is our online catalogue SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online). However, like any search engine, SOLO can sometimes be a little tricky to get used to, so we’ve put together some handy…

By Ronald Richenburg

“Born on the Fourth of July” is the catchy title of a celebrated film, based on a book, which references a humorous patriotic American song with roots going back to the 18th century. Although in the film…

Alt text: “A Collection of the Canting Words and Terms, both ancient and modern, used by Beggars, Gypsies, Cheats, House-Breakers, Shop-Lifters, Foot-Pads, Highway-Men &c,” from Nathan Bailey’s The new universal etymological English dictionary (1760). Image courtesy of the Bodleian Libraries…

On 17th October 1964 the Bodleian Law Library formally opened its doors… 60 years on, the library still looks remarkably similar to the day it opened!

Readers still enter via the original wood and glass doors and step into the reading…