IMC 2007: Sessions
Session 1124: Perpetrators of Urban Crime and their Appearance in the Records
Wednesday 11 July 2007, 11.15-12.45
Organiser: | Erik Spindler, Oriel College, University of Oxford |
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Moderator/Chair: | Clive Burgess, Department of History, Royal Holloway, University of London |
Paper 1124-a | The Perpetrators of Violence in Late 13th- and Early 14th-Century Paris and Arras (Language: English) Index terms: Law, Mentalities, Social History |
Paper 1124-b | Late 14th-Century Yarmouth Criminals (Language: English) Index terms: Law, Social History |
Paper 1124-c | Criminals in the Law Enforcement Records of Late 14th- and Early 15th-Century Bruges and London (Language: English) Index terms: Daily Life, Law, Mentalities, Social History |
Abstract | Urban populations and authorities were concerned with crime and its perpetrators. Criminals can be categorised by gender, activity or status. Their actions (individual and collective) and the reactions they provoked left traces in the records that, carefully analysed, shed light on the functioning of urban society. Thus, different groups of perpetrators used violence to negotiate identities and relationships (paper a). In court, individual criminals were treated differently according to their perceived character, status and networks (paper b). In recording crime, law enforcement officers effectively and creatively adapted legal forms to deal with language use and problems of transience, group coherence and anonymity (paper c). |