Definition
Anglo-French legal term meaning "books" or, more specifically, "the Year Books." In historical English legal usage, the term referred to the compiled annual records of court proceedings and judicial decisions that formed a foundational body of common law authority from the 13th through early 16th centuries. The Year Books were not statutes but rather reports — written largely in Law French — of arguments made and decisions rendered in the royal courts of England. They served as the principal working tools of medieval English lawyers and judges.
Common Confusion
Do not conflate "anuels livres" with the Custuma Antiqua or with Edward I's wool customs legislation. Burrill's compressed entry has created a surface appearance of connection between these concepts that does not hold up under examination. The wool customs (Antiqua Custuma, 1275) are a distinct subject with their own entry and literature.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers encountering this term in historical legal texts are dealing with a reference to the Year Books themselves, not to a discrete legal doctrine or cause of action. The significance is bibliographic and sourcing: a citation or reference to "anuels livres" in a medieval or early modern English legal document signals that the writer is pointing to Year Book authority.
The term matters for corpus navigation because it marks the boundary between two eras of legal reporting. The Year Books were superseded by named reporters in the 16th century, and modern legal research tools do not integrate them the same way as later case law. When a treatise or pleading cites to "the annual books" or uses this phrase, the researcher must trace the reference through specialized Year Book indexes and editions — not standard case law databases.
Note also the divergence between the two principal historical dictionary sources. Black's (both editions) treats the term narrowly as a reference to the Year Books. Burrill's entry is more expansive and appears to conflate or compound two distinct matters: the Year Books on one hand, and the Custuma Antiqua (the ancient customs on wool, woolfells, and leather granted to Edward I in the third year of his reign) on the other. This appears to be an editorial compression or transcription issue in Burrill's — researchers should treat that entry with caution and not assume "anuels livres" carries any direct connection to customs duties law.
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's Law Dictionary (both editions) gives a compact and consistent entry: "The Year Books" with attribution to Kelham's Law French dictionary. This is the controlling definition for research purposes.
Burrill's entry is anomalous. It appears to run together two separate glosses. The first clause — referencing toms upon wools, woolfells, and leather granted to Edward I — corresponds to the Custuma Antiqua or Antiqua Custuma, a well-documented medieval customs schedule. The second clause — "books" — matches the Year Books meaning found in Black's. Burrill's attribution to Vaugh. 161, 162 (Vaughan's Reports) applies to the customs matter, not to the Year Books reference. Whether this reflects an error in Burrill's original compilation or a transcription artifact in later editions, the two concepts are legally and historically distinct. Historical sources agree that the core meaning of "anuels livres" is "annual books" or "year books"; Burrill's customs material belongs to a separate entry.
Neither Black's nor Burrill's provides meaningful treatment of the Year Books as an institution, beyond the bare identification. For substantive context on the Year Books — their authorship, organization, authority, and use in pleading — researchers must consult specialist legal history sources.