Prosecuting theft in Old Regime France, c.1540–c.1700

• Published in: Continuity and change Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. 283 - 312
• Main Author: Hamilton, Tom
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.04.2024
• Subjects: 16th century; 17th century; 18th century; Archives & records; Capitalism; Conflict resolution; Courts; Courts of appeals; Crime; Historians; Louis XIV, King of France (1638-1715); Property; Property crime; Property offences; Ridicule; Robbery; Theft; Trends; Violence; France; Europe

This article analyses a significant sample of theft cases tried in the appellate courts of the parlements of Paris and Toulouse from the mid-sixteenth century to the end of the seventeenth century. Despite some historians’ claims that theft was typically overlooked or settled informally, and that pr...