Law, Comedy, and Dialogue Workshop held at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies

13 May 2026

Focusing on the period from 1000 to 1600, scholars from numerous disciplines (Law, French, History, and English) came together to discuss the presence of a wide variety of different comic forms - especially ones relating to pleading - in both legal and literary texts. The event was co-organised by Professor Maksymilian Del Mar and Professor Greg Walker, who are collaborating together on an interdisciplinary research project on law and comedy in the long medieval/early modern. The event was supported by the Queen Mary School of Law and the Law and Humanities Hub at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.

The first panel, with Professor Greg Walker and Professor Cathy Shrank, discussed the writings of John Heywood (part of the Thomas More circle) and his interludes, as well as the satire of lawyers in sixteenth century dialogue. The second panel focused on Rabelais, with both Dr Raphaële Garrod and Professor Julie Stone Peters, discussing his seriously playful use of legal comedy in his Gargantua and Pantagruel novel. The following day, in panel three, Dr Ada Kuskowski and Professor Miri Rubin put the spotlight on medieval law, poetry, and art, showing how comedy and dialogue were important to medieval culture.

Finally, in the fourth panel, still on the medieval period, Dr Tom Johnson spoke about (bad!) jokes heard in English courts in the 15th century, while Professor Del Mar discussed the long-forgotten Marcolfian tradition (from the Marcolf and Solomon dialogue). Sessions were chaired by Professor Warren Boutcher, Professor Neil Kenny, Professor Nicolette Zeeman, and Dr Katrin Ettenhuber, with an interdisciplinary audience joining in the conversation. 

The papers presented will comprise a special issue on the topic, edited by Professor Del Mar and Professor Walker, in the journal Law and Literature.