By Barbara A. Hanawalt (NHC Fellow, 1997–98) To be labeled "of ill repute" in medieval society implied that a person had committed a violation of accepted standards and had stepped beyond the bounds of permissible behavior. To have a reputation "of good repute", however, was so powerful as to help a person accused of a … Continued
By Michael Kwass (NHC Fellow, 2001–02) Louis Mandrin led a gang of bandits who brazenly smuggled contraband into eighteenth-century France. Michael Kwass brings new life to the legend of this Gallic Robin Hood and the thriving underworld he helped to create. Decades before the storming of the Bastille, surging world trade excited a revolution in consumption that … Continued
Edited by Edward Muir (NHC Fellow, 1992–93) and Guido Ruggiero This work demonstrates how a sophisticated analysis of documents once thought beneath scholarly notice–criminal records–can offer stunning new insights into the past.
By Paul Griffiths (NHC Fellow, 2002–03) A major study of the transformation of early modern London. By focusing on policing, prosecution, and the language and perceptions of the authorities and the underclasses, Paul Griffiths explores the swift growth of London and the changes to its cultures, communities, and environments. Through a series of thematic chapters … Continued
Edited by Barbara A. Hanawalt (NHC Fellow, 1997–98) and David Wallace Crime is a matter of interpretation, especially in the Middle Ages, when societies faced with new ideas and pressures were continually forced to rethink what a crime was-and what was a crime. These essays reveal how various forces in medieval society interacted and competed … Continued
By Karen Halttunen (NHC Fellow, 1994–95) Confronting murder in the newspaper, on screen, and in sensational trials, we often feel the killer is fundamentally incomprehensible and morally alien. But this was not always the popular response to murder. In Murder Most Foul, Karen Halttunen explores the changing view of murder from early New England sermons read at the … Continued