This invaluable collection explores the many faces of murder, and its cultural presences, across the Italian peninsula between 1350 and 1650. These shape the content in different ways: the faces of homicide range from the ordinary to the sensational, from the professional to the accidental, from the domestic to the public; while the cultural presence of homicide is revealed through new studies of sculpture, paintings, and popular literature. Dealing with a range of murders, and informed by the latest criminological research on homicide, it brings together new research by an international team of specialists on a broad range of themes: different kinds of killers (by gender, occupation, and situation); different kinds of victim (by ethnicity, gender, and status); and different kinds of evidence (legal, judicial, literary, and pictorial). It will be an indispensable resource for students of Renaissance Italy, late medieval/early modern crime and violence, and homicide studies.
It is often said that marriage is a central or basic institution of society. This was perhaps more true in the past, or true in different ways, in periods when many marriages were arranged by parents, when brides were accompanied by dowries, and when marriage was used symbolically to represent the union of nuns to Christ or of rulers to their states. This volume examines four of the main areas of importance in the history of marriage: first, the wedding itself, its economics and trappings; the laws that aimed to regulate aspects of marriage; intermarriage among social groups; and, finally, the consequences of marriage for women. A number of contributions to the book set out to challenge current historical assumptions about marriage - as regards, for example, family marriage strategies or the effects of poverty and endogamy on marriage patterns in remote mountain communities.
This invaluable collection explores the many faces of murder, and its cultural presences, across the Italian peninsula between 1350 and 1650. These shape the content in different ways: the faces of homicide range from the ordinary to the sensational, from the professional to the accidental, from the domestic to the public; while the cultural presence of homicide is revealed through new studies of sculpture, paintings, and popular literature. Dealing with a range of murders, and informed by the latest criminological research on homicide, it brings together new research by an international team of specialists on a broad range of themes: different kinds of killers (by gender, occupation, and situation); different kinds of victim (by ethnicity, gender, and status); and different kinds of evidence (legal, judicial, literary, and pictorial). It will be an indispensable resource for students of Renaissance Italy, late medieval/early modern crime and violence, and homicide studies.
In this ambitious survey of lawlessness and legal retribution in medieval Europe, Trevor Dean ranges widely across the continent and Britain. He uses court records to illuminate the lives of ordinary
In this important study, Trevor Dean examines the history of crime and criminal justice in Italy from the mid-thirteenth to the end of the fifteenth century. The book contains studies of the most frequent types of prosecuted crime such as violence, theft and insult, along with the rarely prosecuted sorcery and sex crimes. Drawing on a diverse and innovative range of sources, including legislation, legal opinions, prosecutions, chronicles and works of fiction, Dean demonstrates how knowledge of the history of criminal justice can illuminate our wider understanding of the Middle Ages. Issues and instruments of criminal justice reflected the structure and operation of state power; they were an essential element in the evolution of cities and they provided raw material for fictions. Furthermore, the study of judicial records provides insight into a wide range of social situations, from domestic violence to the oppression of ethnic minorities.
Daniel Waley and Trevor Dean show how, from the eleventh century onwards, many dozens of Italian towns achieved independence as political entities, unhindered by any centralising power. Until the four
The towns of Italy in the later Middle Ages presents over one hundred fascinating documents, carefully selected and coordinated from the richest, most innovative and most documented society of the Eur
This book brings together challenging new essays from some of the leaders in Italian scholarship in three countries, to show the range of work that is currently being done not only on Florence but als
Daniel Waley and Trevor Dean illustrate how, from the eleventh century onwards, many dozens of Italian towns achieved independence as political entities, unhindered by any centralising power. Until th
This collection celebrates and evaluates the seminal research of Margaret Spufford, a leading historian of early modern English social and economic history. Spufford played a crucial role in the broad
