Boklansering: De elendige

Welcome to an exciting book launch with a presentation of the book and a meeting with the author. The Wretches. Crime and Punishment in Agder in the period approx. 1500 - 1720 by Kjell-Olav Masdalen. Join us for an evening that provides insight into local history, legal history and the people who lived in Agder several hundred years ago. There will be an opportunity to ask questions, as well as buy the book and have it signed by the author. About the book: What was life really like in Agder in the 17th century? Was the peasant community as violent and immoral as historians have long claimed, or do the sources hide a more nuanced story? In this new book, the author takes a deep dive into crime, the legal system and social life in Agder in the 17th century. Through court records, judgments and historical sources, we meet people who came into conflict with the law, whether it was murder, theft, sexual crimes or witchcraft accusations. The book shows how society went from a local and reconciliation-oriented legal system, where offenders could often pay for their actions and be accepted back into the community, to a far stricter penal regime characterized by the death penalty, exile and public punishments. At the same time, the author challenges the notion that people of the past were necessarily more violent than we are. Through dramatic individual destinies and thought-provoking analyses, the book sheds new light on power, morality, honour and justice in the old farming society. Program for the launch: 17.30 Doors open 18:00 Presentation of the book by the author Kjell-Olav Masdalen 19:00 Coffee in the cafe Free admission. Image: The Triumph of Death. Excerpt from De triomf van de Dood. Pieter Brueghel the Elder. Circa 1562. Museo del Prado, Madrid.