‘Crime Scene’ Leqal History – Introduction to the History of Criminal Law and Criminality

 

In the fifth volume of the methodica series – Introduction to Legal Historical Research, Karl Härter presents important sources and methods as well as the related topics, concepts, interpretations and controversies from the more recent history of criminal law and crime. The introduction pursues an integrative perspective, which makes clear the different disciplinary methods and research concepts as well as the connecting elements of criminal law history and historical crime research. This makes it possible to identify a wide range of methods for investigating the variety of different sources – from criminal law norms to court and criminal records to interrogation protocols and judgments – that past societies and legal systems have produced and left behind in dealing with crime. From this methodological and interdisciplinary point of view, and taking into account current transnational, cultural and media-historical approaches, the volume considers by way of the early modern Holy Roman Empire the important fields, controversies and perspectives of research such as the relationship between criminal-law norms and judicial practice, violence and criminality, social fringe groups and property crime as well as the functions of criminal justice between combating crime, social control, conflict regulation and uses of justice.

The volume belongs to the Institute’s series methodica and was published by Walter de Gruyter.