A Punishment for Each Criminal

Gender and Crime in Swedish Medieval Law
Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-90-04-27144-9
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 67, 238 Seiten, Format (B × H): 164 mm x 245 mm, Gewicht: 524 g

Reihe: The Northern World

A Punishment for Each Criminal is the first in-depth analysis of how gender influenced Swedish medieval law. Christine Ekholst demonstrates how the law codes gradually and unevenly introduced women as possible perpetrators for all serious crimes. The laws reveal that legislators not only expected men and women to commit different types of crimes; they also punished men and women in different ways if they were convicted. The laws consistently stipulated different methods of executions for men and women; while men were hanged or broken on the wheel, women were buried alive, stoned, or burned at the stake. A Punishment for Each Criminal explores the background to the important legislative changes that took place when women were made personally responsible for their own crimes.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ekholst, Christine

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Recht, Rechtswissenschaft Allgemein Rechtsgeschichte, Recht der Antike

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments vi
Abbreviations and Reference System …vii

Introduction…1

1 The Swedish Medieval Law Codes…5
2 To Have and To Take: Property Crimes 34
3 Assault and Lesser Violence …76
4 Lethal Violence: Homicide, Murder, Arson and Witchcraft …108
5 Sexual Crimes: Fornication, Adultery and Bestiality …151
6 Taking a Woman with Force: Rape and Abduction …190
7 Conclusions …209

Sources and Bibliography …222
Index …236

Über Autor(innen)

Christine Ekholst, Ph.D in history (Stockholm University, 2009) is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Guelph, Canada and a Research Associate at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She has published several articles on violence, gender and sexuality in medieval Sweden. Her current research project is a study of late medieval kings and queens accused of sexual transgressions.