Crime and the law have now been studied by historians of early modern England for more than a generation. This book 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. It also examines in detail the crimes of witchcraft, coining--counterfeiting and coin-clipping--and murder, in order to reveal new and important insights into how the thinking of ordinary people was transformed between 1550 and 1750.
Author(s): Malcolm Gaskill
Series: Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2000
Language: English
Pages: 390
Crime and Mentalities in Early Modern England
......Page 5
Contents......Page 9
Acknowledgments......Page 10
Abbreviations......Page 12
Introduction......Page 14
1 - Mentalities from crime......Page 16
Part I - Witchcraft......Page 44
2 - The social meaning of witchcraft 1560-1680......Page 46
3 - Witches in society and culture, 1680-1750......Page 92
Part II - Coining......Page 134
4 - The problem of coiners and the law......Page 136
5 - Towards a solution? Coining, state and people......Page 174
Part III - Murder......Page 214
6 - Crimes of blood and their representation......Page 216
7 - Murder: police, prosecution and proof......Page 255
Conclusion......Page 294
Bibliogrpahy......Page 325
Index......Page 378
