NCJ Number
169792
Date Published
1996
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This analysis of the nature and extent of violence in Paris, France during 1332-1488 concludes that the high level of violent crime in late medieval France corresponded closely with that of other European countries and that violence was a part of life rather than a separate phenomenon.
Abstract
In addition, the data indicate a high level of continuity during and after the Hundred Years' War; 30 years after the end of the war the pattern of urban criminality remained unchanged. The war produced the dislocation of entire sectors of the rural and urban civilian population; the same period experienced recurrent plague, economic slumps, and monetary devaluation. However, crime levels and patterns remained stable. Violence was the normative method of settling personal disputes in all classes of society in both 1332 and 1488. Verbal and physical aggression was integral to normal social interaction. The pattern of crimes for which people were arrested and tried remained constant. The majority of the cases of violence concerned brawls, street fights, and casual violence. Minor proportions of thefts, rapes, and murders occurred before and after the war, but no discernible change took place. The available data also indicate that the judicial authorities were preoccupied with maintaining order rather than with achieving justice. The power of the law was geared to keep order so as to uphold authority. Throughout the period, crime was regarded merely as a transgression against the power of authority rather than as a violation of law or justice. Findings suggest that the patterns of crime and law enforcement are influenced more by the perception of what crime is than by external factors such as a war and its effects. Reference notes