⚖️ Blackstone's Commentaries

Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England

Sir William Blackstone published his Commentaries at Oxford in four books between 1765 and 1769. They became the law book of the American founding. Generations of American lawyers learned the law from them, from John Marshall to Abraham Lincoln, and in Donald Lutz's study of founding-era political writing only the Bible and Montesquieu were cited more often. Read them here, chapter by chapter, or download them free.

4 books and the introduction · 121 chapters · about 666,000 words · downloads · lesson: William Blackstone

Downloads

Free to download and share. The e-book and Word files hold the full text of the Oxford first edition; the PDFs are page scans of a set John Adams owned and signed.

📱E-book (EPUB): all four booksThe introduction and all four books in one e-book, with a table of contents by book and chapter, section headings and Blackstone's notes. Opens in Apple Books, Google Play Books, Kobo, Calibre and most e-readers.EPUB · 1.7 MB 📝Word: Introduction and Book IOn the study of law, the nature of laws, the laws of England; then the rights of persons: absolute rights, Parliament, the king, magistrates, people, family and corporations.DOCX · 0.4 MB 📝Word: Book IIThe rights of things: property, the feudal system, tenures, estates, title by descent, purchase and alienation, personal property and contracts.DOCX · 0.4 MB 📝Word: Book IIIPrivate wrongs: the courts, civil injuries and their remedies, process, pleading, trial by jury, judgment and execution.DOCX · 0.4 MB 📝Word: Book IVPublic wrongs: the nature of crimes, offences against God, the state and individuals, criminal procedure, and the rise of the laws of England.DOCX · 0.4 MB 📜Facsimile, Volume 1: Of the Rights of PersonsPage scans of John Adams's own signed copy, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1768-1770 printing. Boston Public Library, John Adams Library, via the Internet Archive.PDF · 26.1 MB 📜Facsimile, Volume 2: Of the Rights of ThingsPage scans of John Adams's own signed copy, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1768-1770 printing. Boston Public Library, John Adams Library, via the Internet Archive.PDF · 26.9 MB 📜Facsimile, Volume 3: Of Private Wrongs (with annotations in Adams's hand)Page scans of John Adams's own signed copy, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1768-1770 printing. Boston Public Library, John Adams Library, via the Internet Archive.PDF · 25.1 MB 📜Facsimile, Volume 4: Of Public WrongsPage scans of John Adams's own signed copy, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1768-1770 printing. Boston Public Library, John Adams Library, via the Internet Archive.PDF · 24.8 MB

The complete Oxford first edition (1765-1769) as page scans, from the Bavarian State Library copy: Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4 (Internet Archive, about 500 MB each).

📖 Need an EPUB reader?

The e-book file opens in any of these free readers. Download the EPUB above, then open it with one of them.

  • Thorium Reader (Windows, Mac and Linux): free and open source, built for EPUB, with read-aloud and accessibility settings.
  • Calibre (Windows, Mac and Linux): free e-book reader and library manager; it can also send the book to a Kindle.
  • Apple Books (iPhone, iPad and Mac): already installed on Apple devices. Tap the downloaded file and choose Books.
  • Google Play Books (Android, iPhone and the web): upload the EPUB to your library and read it on any device you sign in to.
  • EPUBReader online (any browser): open the file in a web page with nothing to install.

Outside sites, listed for convenience. They are not affiliated with this site.

About this edition

The text comes from the Avalon Project at Yale Law School, which keyed the Oxford first edition by hand. For this edition the page headers, catchwords and page marks were removed and paragraphs rejoined across pages. The old long s (ſ), which the keyers typed as f ("perfons", "neceffary"), is printed as a modern s. Blackstone's own spelling (antient, shew, publick) is left alone. His footnotes appear at the end of each chapter, and page ranges refer to the first edition.

The section headings inside each chapter are added by the editor so the long chapters can be scanned and searched. They follow Blackstone's own divisions and are not part of his text. The same goes for the shaded boxes marked "Added by the editor": they hold founders' words and other context on each subject, such as where it landed in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights, and each chapter ends with links to the original text at its source and the page scans. The downloads (EPUB and Word) hold Blackstone's text only. Where a few passages in the Avalon keying were garbled (tables of descent, the forms in the appendices, some Greek in the notes), they are reproduced as keyed; check the facsimiles for those.

Contents

Introduction

  1. Section 1. On the Study of Law
  2. Section 2. Of the Nature of Laws in General
  3. Section 3. Of the Laws of England
  4. Section 4. Of the Countries Subject to the Laws of England

Book I: The Rights of Persons

  1. Chapter 1. Of the Absolute Rights of Individuals
  2. Chapter 2. Of the Parliament
  3. Chapter 3. Of the King and his Title
  4. Chapter 4. Of the King's Royal Family
  5. Chapter 5. Of the Councils Belonging to the King
  6. Chapter 6. Of the King's Duties
  7. Chapter 7. Of the King's Prerogative
  8. Chapter 8. Of the King's Revenue
  9. Chapter 9. Of Subordinate Magistrates
  10. Chapter 10. Of People, Whether Aliens, Denizens or Natives
  11. Chapter 11. Of the Clergy
  12. Chapter 12. Of the Civil State
  13. Chapter 13. Of the Military and Maritime States
  14. Chapter 14. Of Master and Servant
  15. Chapter 15. Of Husband and Wife
  16. Chapter 16. Of Parent and Child
  17. Chapter 17. Of Guardian and Ward
  18. Chapter 18. Of Corporations

Book II: The Rights of Things

  1. Chapter 1. Of Property in General
  2. Chapter 2. Of Real Property and, First, of Corporeal Hereditaments
  3. Chapter 3. Incorporeal Hereditaments
  4. Chapter 4. Of the Feodal System
  5. Chapter 5. Of the Antient English Tenures
  6. Chapter 6. Of the Modern English Tenures
  7. Chapter 7. Of Freehold Estates, of Inheritance
  8. Chapter 8. Of Freeholds, not of Inheritance
  9. Chapter 9. Of Estates Less Than Freehold
  10. Chapter 10. Of Estates Upon Condition
  11. Chapter 11. Of Estates in Possession, Remainder, and Reversion
  12. Chapter 12. Of Estates in Severalty, Joint-Tenancy, Coparcenary, and Common
  13. Chapter 13. Of the Title to Things Real, in General
  14. Chapter 14. Of Title by Descent
  15. Chapter 15. Of Title by Purchase, and First by Escheat
  16. Chapter 16. Of Title by Occupancy
  17. Chapter 17. Of Title by Prescription
  18. Chapter 18. Of Title by Forfeiture
  19. Chapter 19. Of Title by Alienation
  20. Chapter 20. Of Alienation by Deed
  21. Chapter 21. Of Alienation by Matter of Record
  22. Chapter 22. Of Alienation by Special Custom
  23. Chapter 23. Of Alienation by Devise
  24. Chapter 24. Of Things Personal
  25. Chapter 25. Of Property in Things Personal
  26. Chapter 26. Of Title to Things Personal by Occupancy
  27. Chapter 27. Of Title by Prerogative, and Forfeiture
  28. Chapter 28. Of Title by Custom
  29. Chapter 29. Of Title by Succession, Marriage, and Judgment
  30. Chapter 30. Of Title by Gift, Grant, and Contract
  31. Chapter 31. Of Title by Bankruptcy
  32. Chapter 32. Of Title by Testament, and Administration
  33. Appendix. Appendix

Book III: Of Private Wrongs

  1. Chapter 1. Of the Redress of Private Wrongs by the Mere Act of Parties
  2. Chapter 2. Of Redress by the Mere Operation of Law
  3. Chapter 3. Of Courts in General
  4. Chapter 4. Of the Public Courts of Common Law and Equity
  5. Chapter 5. Of Courts Ecclesiastical, Military and Maritime
  6. Chapter 6. Of Courts of a Special Jurisdiction
  7. Chapter 7. Of the Cognizance of Private Wrongs
  8. Chapter 8. Of Wrongs and Their Remedies, Respecting the Rights of Persons
  9. Chapter 9. Of Injuries to Personal Property
  10. Chapter 10. Of Injuries to Real Property, And First of Dispossession, Or Ouster of the Freehold
  11. Chapter 11. Of Dispossession, Or Ouster, Of Chattels Real
  12. Chapter 12. Of Trespass
  13. Chapter 13. Of Nusance
  14. Chapter 14. Of Waste
  15. Chapter 15. Of Subtraction
  16. Chapter 16. Of Disturbance
  17. Chapter 17. Of Injuries Proceeding From, or Affecting, the Crown
  18. Chapter 18. Of the Pursuit of Remedies by Action; And, First, Of the Original Writ
  19. Chapter 19. Of Process
  20. Chapter 20. Of Pleading
  21. Chapter 21. Of Issue and Demurrer
  22. Chapter 22. Of the Several Species of Trial
  23. Chapter 23. Of the Trial by Jury
  24. Chapter 24. Of Judgments, And it's Incidents
  25. Chapter 25. Of Proceedings, In the Nature of Appeals
  26. Chapter 26. Of Execution
  27. Chapter 27. Of Proceedings in the Courts of Equity
  28. Appendix 1. Appendix I
  29. Appendix 2. Appendix II
  30. Appendix 3. Appendix III

Book IV: Of Public Wrongs

  1. Chapter 1. Of the Nature of Crimes, And Their Punishment
  2. Chapter 2. Of the Persons Capable of Committing Crimes
  3. Chapter 3. Of Principals and Accessories
  4. Chapter 4. Of Offences Against God and Religion
  5. Chapter 5. Of Offences Against the Law of Nations
  6. Chapter 6. Of High Treason
  7. Chapter 7. Of Felonies, Injurious to the King's Prerogative
  8. Chapter 8. Of Praemunire
  9. Chapter 9. Of Misprisions and Contempts, Affecting the King and Government
  10. Chapter 10. Of Offences Against Public Justice
  11. Chapter 11. Of Offences Against the Public Peace
  12. Chapter 12. Of Offences Against Public Trade
  13. Chapter 13. Of Offences Against the Public Health, and the Public Police or Economy
  14. Chapter 14. Of Homicide
  15. Chapter 15. Of Offences Against the Persons of Individuals
  16. Chapter 16. Of Offences Against the Habitations of Individuals
  17. Chapter 17. Of Offences Against Private Property
  18. Chapter 18. Of the Means of Preventing Offences
  19. Chapter 19. Of the Courts of Criminal Jurisdiction
  20. Chapter 20. Of Summary Convictions
  21. Chapter 21. Of Arrests
  22. Chapter 22. Of Commitment and Bail
  23. Chapter 23. Of the Several Modes of Prosecution
  24. Chapter 24. Of Process Upon an Indictment
  25. Chapter 25. Of Arraignment, And Its Incidents
  26. Chapter 26. Of Plea, And Issue
  27. Chapter 27. Of Trial, And Conviction
  28. Chapter 28. Of the Benefit of Clergy
  29. Chapter 29. Of Judgment, And its Consequences
  30. Chapter 30. Of Reversal of Judgment
  31. Chapter 31. Of Reprieve, And Pardon
  32. Chapter 32. Of Execution
  33. Chapter 33. Of the Rise, Progress, And Gradual Improvements, of the Laws of England
  34. Appendix. Appendix
  35. Supplement. Supplement
  36. Index. Index