Selden's Sister Annual Lecture: 'The Elusive Fingerprint: Searching for the Legal Influence of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Eleanor of Castile'

Selden's Sister is delighted to host Lady Justice Sara Cockerill for its annual lecture of 2026.

Lady Justice Cockerill was called to the bar in 1990, appointed as a QC (now KC) in 2011. In 2015, Lady Justice Cockerill was appointed as a Deputy High Court Judge, before being appointed as a High Court Judge in 2017. Lady Justice Cockerill has, since 2025, served as a Lady Justice of Appeal and Deputy Head of Civil Justice. Outside of her judicial career, Lady Justice Cockerill is an established legal historical researcher and author, publishing 'Eleanor of Castile – The Shadow Queen' (2014 Amberley) and 'Eleanor of Aquitaine – Queen of France and England, Mother of Empires' (2019 Amberley). Her lecture develops upon this body of research, exploring the legislative influence of the Eleanors hy considering the role of Eleanor of Aquitaine in relation to Maritime Law and the Black Book of Admiralty and the role of Eleanor of Castile in influencing the Statute of Jewry.