Overview
- Explores how the indictment, investigation, and classification of suspected suicides was undertaken in early modern Sweden
- Analyses how the interpretations of the courts were influenced by the social status and local ties of the deceased
- Investigates the phenomenon of suicide in early modern Sweden and the hardships and crises behind it
Part of the book series: World Histories of Crime, Culture and Violence (WHCCV)
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Table of contents (6 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
This book explores the judicial treatment of suicides in early modern Sweden, with a focus on the criminal investigation and selective treatment of suicides in the lower courts in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Riikka Miettinen shows that reactions and attitudes towards suicides varied considerably despite harsh condemnation by officials. The indictment, investigation, and classification of suspected suicides and the mental state of a person already deceased were challenging, and depended on local co-operation and lay testimonies. Not all suicides were considered alike; a widespread view on the heinousness of suicide was not the same as agreement about specific cases, and did not result in uniform handling of them. The social status and local ties of the deceased influenced the interpretations and responses at the local lower courts and communities. Esteemed local community members had a better defence and greater chance to escape the shameful penalties.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Riikka Miettinen is Postdoctoral Researcher in History at the Centre of Excellence in the History of Experiences at Tampere University, Finland.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Suicide, Law, and Community in Early Modern Sweden
Authors: Riikka Miettinen
Series Title: World Histories of Crime, Culture and Violence
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11845-7
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG, part of Springer Nature 2019
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-11844-0Published: 05 March 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-11845-7Published: 22 February 2019
Series ISSN: 2730-9630
Series E-ISSN: 2730-9649
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 346
Number of Illustrations: 2 b/w illustrations
Topics: History of Early Modern Europe, Social History, Cultural History, Crime and Society