Dans son célèbre ouvrage La Civilisation des moeurs, le sociologue allemand Norbert Elias faisait l'hypothèse de l'existence d'un processus de civilisation traversant l'histoire des sociétés européennes depuis la fin du Moyen Âge et réduisant le niveau des violences physiques interpersonnelles. Pourtant, l'idée d'un « retour à la violence physique » - fortement médiatisé et politisé - prédomine dans les sociétés occidentales où l'« insécurité » est redevenue, au tournant du XXI^e siècle, un sujet majeur. Replaçant ces débats dans une perspective historique et comparative, douze historiens et sociologues, spécialistes reconnus de l'étude du crime, dressent ici un bilan des connaissances scientifiques inédit en langue française. Ils livrent d'abord une discussion méthodologique particulièrement poussée pour déterminer la valeur des statistiques en matière d'homicide et l'intérêt qu'elles représentent pour mesurer l'évolution des violences physiques dans l'histoire des sociétés européennes. Ils montrent ensuite quels sont les lieux, les protagonistes (auteurs et victimes) et les motifs des homicides tout au long de cette histoire, de même que le rôle qu'a joué leur répression judiciaire croissante. À travers cette histoire du crime de sang, on voit donc aussi apparaître et s'éclairer l'histoire des rapports sociaux (entre les hommes et les femmes, entre les jeunes et les vieux, entre les dominants et les dominés), l'histoire des codes sociaux et des représentations sociales (l'honneur, l'offense, la vengeance), ainsi que l'histoire de la construction de l'État et de son « monopole de la violence légitime ».

Has violence changed over the centuries? Has it always held the same meanings for us?Will it always be a given in society?

Taking the sociocultural long view, Violence in Europe analyzes the prevalence and role of violence from street crime to terrorist attacks, homicide to genocide in the evolution of human and national behavior. The editors and 14 colleagues in history, anthropology, sociology, and psychology focus on Northern and Western Europe, examining centuries of violent phenomena, from the cultural logic of the Middle Ages to today s soccer riots and security alerts. The contributors examination of social constructions (honor codes, class and gender roles) and public ambivalence (acceptance, abhorrence, fascination) regarding violence sheds needed light on current dynamics in law enforcement, political systems, and what many have termed 'the civilization of violence.'

Findings from Britain, France, Ireland, Belgium, and Scandinavia explore: The paradoxes of ethnic violence and insider/outsider thinking in an increasingly multicultural world; Trends in interpersonal violence during wartime and peacetime; The gendering of violence, from early French marital laws to London s underground nightlife; The growth of cities: modernization, conflict, aggression; Modern prevention and surveillance strategies: effective solutions, complicating the problem, or some middle ground?

Reflecting innovative methods of research and interpretation, Violence in Europe is thought-provoking and instructive for researchers and students in psychology and criminology. And with the mounting global presence of violence today, this is reading with profound implications for the future.

This article examines how, in the early modern towns of Stockholm and Åbo, royal interests, town planning, street building and maintenance, and street behavior related to ideas and ideals of urban order. Town laws and ordinances, royal letters and some town court records are employed to tell a story of royal interest in well-ordered, impressive, successful towns; various street plans for the capital and the smaller provincial towns; and the varying execution of renewal plans. It is evident that the capital was to reflect the royal person and the state and that streets and street behaviour were important in this regard. But in towns outside the capital, especially in concrete street maintenance, the centrality of streets does not clearly emerge. The burghers in towns operated as individuals—there was no bottom-up or top-down plan or supervision.

For å forstå den indre sammenhengen mellom politikk og stat, makt og rett i middelalderen må man også begripe feiden. For første gang blir begrepet og fenomenet "feide" i middelalderen og inn i tidlig moderne tid i Norden tatt opp til debatt. Feider og fred i nordisk middelalder er et viktig bidrag til vår forståelse av middelalderens samfunn. Med fokus på feiden gir boka nye innfallsvinkler til samfunnsfenomener som politikk, økonomi, sosiale relasjoner og kjønnsrelasjoner, individ versus kollektiv, heder og ære.    Boka inneholder seks artikler, samt en innledning og en oppsummerende kommentar med perspektiv for framtidig forskning. Målgruppa er studenter, historikere og alle som er interessert i historie og førmoderne samfunn.