Description
Book SynopsisFrom the early Middle Ages to the twentieth century, capital punishment in France, as in many other countries, was staged before large crowds of spectators. Paul Friedland traces the theory and practice of public executions over time, both from the perspective of those who staged these punishments as well as from the vantage point of the many thousands who came to ''see justice done''. While penal theorists often stressed that the fundamental purpose of public punishment was to strike fear in the hearts of spectators, the eagerness with which crowds flocked to executions, and the extent to which spectators actually enjoyed the spectacle of suffering suggests that there was a wide gulf between theoretical intentions and actual experiences. Moreover, public executions of animals, effigies, and corpses point to an enduring ritual function that had little to do with exemplary deterrence. In the eighteenth century, when a revolution in sensibilities made it unseemly for individuals to take
Trade ReviewSeeing Justice Done would be a worthwhile addition to any academic law library or other library seeking to enhance its legal history collection and to provide its users with a unique and educational book selection ... It is highly recommended. * Susan Gualtier, Law Library Journal. Volume 105:3. *
Highly recommended. * Choice Reviews *
This thoughtful and thought-provoking book is filled with interesting, arcane information. The argument is clear and the research admirable. * The Journal of Interdisciplinary History *
Paul Friedland's book provides a scholarly, coherent and lucid analysis of legal change, social attitudes and the mechanics of crime and punishment in France during the late middle ages and the early modern period, focusing on capital punishment.Anyone wanting to understand how capital punishment developed in the first place, both in France and on the wider European stage, and how the move towards its diminution and abolition began, should read this book. * Hugh Gough, English Historical Review *
This book's impressive timespan provides the reader with access to an extraordinary range of interrelated material, which Friedland astutely juggles into a cohesive whole. * Alex Fairfax-Cholmeley, French History *
"By concentrating on the history of capital punishment when it was performed publicly in France, Friedland hopes to provoke reflection on the continued use of the death penalty in the United States today... [Friedland] has written a sweeping intellectual and cultural history that challenges a number of prevailing explanations about the rise and fall of public executions in France." * H-France *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Reading and Writing a History of Punishment ; PART I: THE ROOTS OF MODERN PUNISHMENT IN PRE-MODERN EUROPE ; 1. The Fall and Rise of Rome: Compensation, Atonement, and Deterrence in the Early Middle Ages ; 2. Criminal Intent and Spectacular Punishment: The Infiltration of Roman Legal Theory and Practice into French Customary Law ; PART II: EXECUTIONERS AND THE RITUAL OF EXECUTION ; 3. Extraordinary Beings: The Life and Work of Executioners ; 4. The Execution of Justice: The Ritual of Punishment in Medieval and Early Modern France ; PART III: SPECTATORS & SPECTACLE ; 5. From Ritual to Spectacle: The Rise of the Penal Voyeur in Early Modern France ; 6. Executions, Spectator Emotions, and the Naturalization of Sympathy ; 7. A Spectacular Crisis: Watching Executions in the Age of Sensibilite ; PART IV: A DEATH PENALTY FOR THE MODERN AGE ; 8. Theorizing a New Death Penalty: Penal Reform on the Eve of the Revolution ; 9. Legislating the New Death Penalty: The Simple Deprivation of Life ; 10. Executing the New Death Penalty: The Invisible Spectacle of the Guillotine ; Epilogue: The Play Over, The Actors (Slowly) Leave the Stage (1794-1939) ; Conclusion: Punishment Past and Present
