A studious examination of ancient Irish law, its effect on Hindu Law, and how they had escaped influence from Roman Law. Roman, Irish and Hindu Law are explained as they are examined. The result of a series of lectures delivered at Oxford University, dealing with Indian law, Mahametan law, feudalism, enclosure, family, tradition, usury laws, Brehon law, institutions, settled property and women, sovereignty, empire, and much more. Sir Henry Sumner Maine, a highly respected legal historian, a vigorous critic of democracy, and one of the best writers in the humanities of his generation, convinced many legal historians that law and legal institutions must be studied historically if they are to be understood.