John Cowell (1554 – 11 October 1611) was an English jurist.

Life

Born at Ernesborough (now Irishborough), in the parish of Swimbridge in North Devon. He was a chorister in the Choir of King's College, Cambridge and was then educated at Eton College before returning as a scholar at King's College, Cambridge, where he was elected a fellow. In 1594 he became Regius Professor of Civil Law at Cambridge, and in 1598 master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He died at Oxford on 11 October 1611, soon after being released from prison, and was buried in Trinity Hall Chapel, Cambridge.

Works

In 1607, he compiled a law dictionary, The Interpreter, in which he exalted the king's prerogative; he was prosecuted before the House of Commons by Sir Edward Coke, who had a hostile history with Cowell. He was saved from imprisonment only by the interposition of James I. His book was burnt by order of the House of Commons. The suppression order read in part: Many copies survived the burning and have been reprinted. A copy of the 1607 printing can be found at the Lilly Library in Bloomington, Indiana. "The Interpreter" was one of the first law dictionaries. Cowell also wrote a work entitled Institutiones Juris Anglicani. The book has been described as an English version in the Justinian style. It also hints a correlation of Scottish and English law.