Littleton, Sir Thomas

Littleton, Sir Thomas, 1422?–1481, English jurist. He became a sergeant-at-law, i.e., a barrister, in the Court of Common Pleas in 1453 and a judge in 1466. He is best known for his Tenures, a short work in French on the types of estates in land in England. The work, one of the earliest printed books in England, was much admired for its concise and simple quality. In the much-expanded edition of Sir Edward Coke, the Tenures was the standard text on property law until the 19th cent. His name also occurs as Lyttelton or Lyttleton.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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