{"product_id":"dark-speech-9780812239898","title":"Dark Speech","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat does it mean to talk about law as theater, to speak about the performance of transactions as mundane as the sale of a pig or as agonizing as receiving compensation for a dead kinsman? In \u003ci\u003eDark Speech\u003c\/i\u003e, Robin Chapman Stacey explores such questions by examining the interaction between performance and law in Ireland between the seventh and ninth centuries.\u003cbr\u003eExposing the inner workings of the Irish legal system, Stacey examines the manner in which publicly enacted words and silences were used to construct legal and political relationships in a society where traditional hierarchies were very much in flux.\u003cbr\u003eLaw in early Ireland was a verbal art, grounded as much in aesthetics as in the enforcement of communal norms. In contrast with modern law, no sharp distinction existed between art and politics. Visualizing legal events through the lens of procedure, Stacey helps readers recognize the creative, fluid, and inherently risky nature of these same events.\u003cbr\u003eWhile many h\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"An extremely important, learned, and very thoughtful book that addresses a central issue . . . being hotly debated across the social scientific spectrum, among historians, anthropologists, sociologists, and others: the significance of language and performance in understanding traditional societies generally.\" * Patrick Geary, University of California, Los Angeles *\u003cbr\u003e\"The best history book I have read in a very long time. It is full of important ideas based on impressive research expressed in prose that is not dark but clear and amiable.\" * \u003ci\u003eLaw and History Review\u003c\/i\u003e *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction\u003cbr\u003e Chapter One: The Play's the Thing\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Two: Jurists on Stage\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Threee: The Power of the Word\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Four: Voicing Over\u003cbr\u003e Chapter Five: Voices Within the Law\u003cbr\u003e Conclusion: The Dangers of Performance\u003cbr\u003e List of Abbreviations\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Pennsylvania Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49405713219927,"sku":"9780812239898","price":52.7,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780812239898.jpg?v=1730493371","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/dark-speech-9780812239898","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}