This collection of essays by British, American and French scholars uses the records of the law in Western Europe from the fall of Rome to the nineteenth century in an attempt to outline a social history of the West considered as a history of human relations. The primary themes are dispute, arbitration and conjugal relations; the primary influences considered are feud, Christianity and the state. The contributions are discussed overall by an anthropologist lawyer, Simon Roberts, who writes an anthropological introduction, and by the editor in a short historical postscript. The aim has been to...

Christians are supposed to love their neighbors, including their enemies. This is never easy. When feud and honor are common realities, it is even harder than usual. This book sketches the history of human (not political) peace-making in four countries of western Europe (Italy, France, Germany, and England) between the Reformation and the eighteenth century, and in their various religious institutions. The stories are variations on a theme: a "moral tradition" finding its way between the Scylla of reforming zeal and the Charybdis of civil society.

Christians are supposed to love their neighbors, including their enemies. This is never easy. When feud and honor are common realities, it is even harder than usual. This book sketches the history of human (not political) peace-making in four countries of western Europe (Italy, France, Germany, and England) between the Reformation and the eighteenth century, and in their various religious institutions. The stories are variations on a theme: a "moral tradition" finding its way between the Scylla of reforming zeal and the Charybdis of civil society.