The emblem book was invented by the humanist lawyer Andrea Alciato in 1531. The preponderance of juridical and normative themes, of images of rule and infraction, of obedience and error in the emblem books is critical to their purpose and interest. This book outlines the history of the emblem tradition as a juridical genre, along with the concept of, and training in, obiter depicta, in things seen along the way to judgment. It argues that these books depict norms and abuses in classically derived forms that become the visual standards of governance. Despite the plethora of vivid figures and virtual symbols that define and transmit law, contemporary lawyers are not trained in the critical apprehension of the visible. This book is the first to reconstruct the history of the emblem tradition, evidencing the extent to which a gallery of images of law already exists and structuring how the public realm is displayed, made present and viewed.

'… a thorough work of scholarship … This is a vital thesis that gestures towards another time and towards inexhaustible movements. Without fuller appreciation of the emblem tradition, so elegantly recuperated here, the visual turn in legal scholarship will remain ill conceived and our appreciation of the possibilities of social reorganisation and subjectivity will remain static.'

Piyel Haldar Source: Law and Humanities

'This study is not simply a book about legal emblems, but about the overall significance of a critical apprehension of the visible for the law. Dealing with the symbolic dimension as well as the imaginary representation of legality as part of the judicial process, Peter Goodrich surpasses well-known discussions about representational aspects … This book is a veritable treasure chest for all scholars who set about to unravel the visual regimes of the law.'

Carolin Behrmann Source: Journal of the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History