Punishment for Each Criminal

Christine Ekholst, Ph.D in history (Stockholm University, 2009) is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Guelph, Canada and a Research Associate at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She has published several articles on violence, gender and sexuality in medieval Sweden. Her current research project is a study of late medieval kings and queens accused of sexual transgressions.

• Acknowledgments viAbbreviations and Reference System …viiIntroduction…11 The Swedish Medieval Law Codes…52 To Have and To Take: Property Crimes 343 Assault and Lesser Violence …764 Lethal Violence: Homicide, Murder, Arson and Witchcraft …1085 Sexual Crimes: Fornication, Adultery and Bestiality …1516 Taking a Woman with Force: Rape and Abduction …1907 Conclusions …209Sources and Bibliography …222Index …236

"Medieval historians generally dismiss Scandinavia as an oddity, distinctly un-European in its development, and, as such, incapable of offering insight into broader European trends. Nonetheless, the Sweden that Ekholst describes is conspicuously European. Her book establishes how a study of gender in that context can offer powerful insight into broader discussions in medieval history … Ekholst’s comprehensive study of gender and crime in medieval Sweden is a delight to read and a valuable contribution to the study of women and the law."Sara M. Butler, Law and History Review, Vol. 33, No. 2