Speaker: Sian Hibbert, Department of History, University of York

Abstract: »Languedoc's highest court of appeals, the Parlement of Toulouse, experienced a spike in litigation concerning physical interpersonal violence between 1680 and 1720. Analysis of 1,569 criminal case summaries indicates a significant presence of urban elites, especially office holders, and landed elites, as well as the clergy, suggesting strong links between rates of interpersonal violence and interactions within local power structures. Crucially, there is a considerable presence of women in these cases. Scholarship on early modern gender roles argues that female involvement in interpersonal violence was rare, and women were overwhelmingly victims of sexual or domestic violence. The records of the Parlement of Toulouse challenge this. Of the 1,569 cases, 38% involve women, but only 10% reference sexual or domestic relations. This paper will discuss the roles women played in these incidents, explore their disputes within their communities, and examine the strategies they employed during their experiences with Languedoc's criminal courts.« (Source: Online Program)

Wikipedia: History of Europe: History of France / France in the early modern period | Court: Parlement / Parliament of Toulouse | Sex and the law: Sexual violence / Sex crimes in France