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A History of Murder: Personal Violence in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Present
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.
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.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
300 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 9, 2017
The book is hard to read and with lots of statistics. It makes for a good researched book but it also becomes a struggle to read it. There are some very insightful chapters but lots of the book is the repetition of his central argument with statistics. I had the feeling this should have been a well written essay and not an entire book or he should have make the content more diverse. I would suggest it to someone who has a profound interest in the subject and want to use it as a reference for his or her own study. This certainly is not just a fun and quick read through.
February 14, 2022
I read this for class and it really did make me think about honor systems when I rewatched Pride and Prejudice so there is a practical application for it I guess
January 10, 2014
I felt a bit drowned in statistics at times. Keep in mind that a subject like this can't be generalized across countries since each country had differing experiences. But all the numbers and comparisons had me lost at times. His basic point (the 'spiritualization" of honor') was a good one but a lot of the power of the argument was lost for me in the sea of numbers I was drowning in.
September 7, 2022
It was interesting til we got to the 20th century, alas, and now I'm not so confident of the veracity of the medieval stuff I do love so much.
Still, there were some ideas worth keeping, IE: honour culture, with its misogyny, male-on-male violence, vendettas, that the only thing that mattered was how dangerous a fella you are. Fuck with me die. That sort of thing (scary: I valued that, too, as I turned 14. It didn't go so well.) Anyway: you see it where poverty's rampant, gov't is chaotic (Somalia, spots of Eastern Europe (+ area around Greece -- Albania? etc in the 90s), and rule of law is remote & arbitrary (South Central LA & most inner cities). It's fascinating, and it makes sense: we operate under laws that are universal, transcending religion, race, & nationality. I"ve heard some horror stories about 1950s Glasgow, for example; what a shame the writer's vision was ultimately so limited.
Still, there were some ideas worth keeping, IE: honour culture, with its misogyny, male-on-male violence, vendettas, that the only thing that mattered was how dangerous a fella you are. Fuck with me die. That sort of thing (scary: I valued that, too, as I turned 14. It didn't go so well.) Anyway: you see it where poverty's rampant, gov't is chaotic (Somalia, spots of Eastern Europe (+ area around Greece -- Albania? etc in the 90s), and rule of law is remote & arbitrary (South Central LA & most inner cities). It's fascinating, and it makes sense: we operate under laws that are universal, transcending religion, race, & nationality. I"ve heard some horror stories about 1950s Glasgow, for example; what a shame the writer's vision was ultimately so limited.
August 25, 2026
DNF. Good premise, too dense and dry.
May 24, 2010
I found a reference to this book on the internet while attempting to dig up statistics on the long-term trends in incidence of crime. Records on murder are fairly well-kept, so it is an easy trend to study with statistics and graphs. Unfortunately, the book itself is not so easy to study.
The most interesting part of A History of Murder, and the primary reason I read it, is a graph in the introduction, showing that the murder rate (in Europe) has decreased by a factor of roughly 30 between the 14th century and today. Unfortunately, the plot does not show the error bars on the data, but from the overall smoothness of the decline, I'd say it's pretty clear that we are far safer today than 600, 300, or even 100 years ago.
The body of the book attempts to dissect the trends that contribute to murder rates. I wish the clarity that came with the introductory plot could have been carried through the rest of the pages. Unfortunately, I often found instances where the point behind a paragraph would seem to shift midway through. In particular, the author sprinkles accounts of several interesting cases of murder throughout the book, but sometimes, I felt as if they were thrown in gratuitously, and were not well-connected to the rest of the material in the paragraph into which they were parachuted.
While the book serves as a good point from which to find references on crime statistics from the Middle Ages until the present day, the inconclusive nature of the research in the field shows through in the book. The reader should come to this book prepared to actively research and form his own opinions on the root causes behind statistical trends in murder, as a function of time and circumstance.
The most interesting part of A History of Murder, and the primary reason I read it, is a graph in the introduction, showing that the murder rate (in Europe) has decreased by a factor of roughly 30 between the 14th century and today. Unfortunately, the plot does not show the error bars on the data, but from the overall smoothness of the decline, I'd say it's pretty clear that we are far safer today than 600, 300, or even 100 years ago.
The body of the book attempts to dissect the trends that contribute to murder rates. I wish the clarity that came with the introductory plot could have been carried through the rest of the pages. Unfortunately, I often found instances where the point behind a paragraph would seem to shift midway through. In particular, the author sprinkles accounts of several interesting cases of murder throughout the book, but sometimes, I felt as if they were thrown in gratuitously, and were not well-connected to the rest of the material in the paragraph into which they were parachuted.
While the book serves as a good point from which to find references on crime statistics from the Middle Ages until the present day, the inconclusive nature of the research in the field shows through in the book. The reader should come to this book prepared to actively research and form his own opinions on the root causes behind statistical trends in murder, as a function of time and circumstance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2015
Very insightful book, although sometimes concentration is needed. Not a book to read on a relaxing holiday, but interesting. The many examples are enlightening
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews