Crime and Mentalities in Early Modern England

Abstract

Crime and law have now been studied by historians of early modern England for more than a generation. Crime and Mentalities in Early Modern England attempts to reach further than most conventional treatments of the subject, to explore the cultural contexts of law-breaking and criminal prosecution, and to recover their hidden social meanings. In this sense the book is more than just a 'history from below': it is a history from within. Conversely, the book explores crime to shed light on the long-term development of English mentalities in general. To this end, three serious crimes - witchcraft, coining and murder - are examined in detail, revealing new and important insights into how religious reform, state formation, secularisation, and social and cultural change (for example, the spread of literacy and the availability of print) may have transformed the thinking and outlook of most ordinary people between 1550 and 1750

Criminal Bodies

“…34 In his Daemonologie (1597), King James I and VI noted that 'in a secret murther, if the deade carcase be at any time thereafter handled by the murtherer, it wil gush out of bloud, as if the blud wer crying to the heaven for revenge of the murtherer, God having appoynted that secret super-naturall signe.' 35 In considering the matter, the seventeenth-century physician and witchcraft sceptic, John Webster, argued that the moment of death did not always correspond to the departure of the soul:…”

‘Daer en is geen liefde of barmherticheyt meer in ons’: Percepties over criminaliteit en criminaliteitsberichtgeving in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden gedurende de zeventiende en achttiende eeuw¹

“…Als zo'n oproep succesvol was, werd daarover nadien ook bericht in de krant. 58 Voor de Zuidelijke Nederlanden lijken de kaarten anders te liggen. Hoewel via ordonnanties eveneens premies werden uitgeloofd voor het vangen van criminelen, werd zelfs in de achttiende eeuw slechts sporadisch over criminaliteit Sensatie in de vroegmoderne kranten bericht in de Gazette van Antwerpen en de Gazette van Gend.…”

Northern Catholics and the Manchester Jacobite Trials of 1694: A ‘Refined Piece of Villainy’?

“…101 The motivation for these Protestants in helping the Catholic defendants is open to interpretation, perhaps brought about by distaste at the government's use of perjured witnesses, to foil what was widely perceived as a Whig tool to gain power, or simply to help neighbours in need. 102 Whatever their attitude to the Jacobite cause, the reactions of Protestants to the defendants suggest that they were able to overlook their religion when interacting with them. While many Protestants continued to fear 'popery' as a malign political force, there was a remarkable level of convergence between Anglicans and Catholics after the Revolution, suggesting that anti-Catholicis m remained a form of qualified intolerance.…”