A History of Murder: Personal Violence in Europe from the Middle Ages to the PresentPolity, 2008 M08 25 - 274 pages This book offers a fascinating and insightful overview of seven centuries of murder in Europe. It tells the story of the changing face of violence and documents the long-term decline in the incidence of homicide. From medieval vendettas to stylised duels, from the crime passionel of the modern period right up to recent public anxieties about serial killings and underworld assassinations, the book offers a richly illustrated account of murder's metamorphoses. In this original and compelling contribution, Spierenburg sheds new light on several important themes. He looks, for example, at the transformation of homicide from a private matter, followed by revenge or reconciliation, into a public crime, always subject to state intervention. Combining statistical data with a cultural approach, he demonstrates the crucial role gender played in the spiritualisation of male honour and the subsequent reduction of male-on-male aggression, as well as offering a comparative view of how different social classes practised and reacted to violence. This authoritative study will be of great value to students and scholars of the history of crime and violence, criminology and the sociology of violence. At a time when murder rates are rising and public fears about violent crime are escalating, this book will also interest the general reader intrigued by how our relationship with murder reached this point. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Fragility of Life in Medieval Europe | 12 |
From Acquiescence to Criminalization | 43 |
The Social Differentiation of Male Fighting | 65 |
Women and the Domestic Sphere | 114 |
Babies and the Insane | 143 |
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aggression Amsterdam aristocratic assault attack Avdela baby became behavior challenge chapter cities combat committed common conflict countries court crime criminalization of homicide culture death decline defendant duelists Dülmen Dutch Dutch Republic early modern Europe early modern period eighteenth century elites Emsley England Europe Europe’s European evidence example female feuding fighters figures fought France French Germany hand historians homicide rates husband incidence included increased infanticide insanity insult involved Italy judicial killed killer kiss knife fights knives lence Low Countries magistrates male honor male-on-male man’s medieval Middle Ages mother murder nineteenth century offense official duel opponent pardon Paris peace percent perpetrators person poisoning police popular duel prosecution punishment rape reconciliation ceremony relatively revenge ritual robbery rural serial killer seventeenth century sexual sixteenth century social Spierenburg stabbed statistics suicide sword tavern tion took towns trend trial urban usually vendetta victims violence weapons Whereas wife witnessed woman women Württemberg