Sir Henry Maine

Sir Henry Maine was a 19th-century legal scholar best known for his work on the evolution of societies and laws. He proposed that societies develop through stages—from simple, kinship-based groups to complex legal systems—mirroring biological growth. Maine emphasized that legal systems evolve over time, moving from personal, family-based rules to abstract, formal laws that apply equally to all. His ideas helped shape modern understanding of legal history and social development, highlighting how society’s institutions and laws change adaptively as communities grow and become more structured.