Choosing Death

Suicide and Calvinism in Early Modern Geneva

Nonfiction, History, Modern
Cover of the book Choosing Death by Jeffrey R. Watt, Truman State University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jeffrey R. Watt ISBN: 9781935503330
Publisher: Truman State University Press Publication: March 1, 2001
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Jeffrey R. Watt
ISBN: 9781935503330
Publisher: Truman State University Press
Publication: March 1, 2001
Imprint:
Language: English

In this case study of the Republic of Geneva, Jeffrey R. Watt convincingly argues the early modern era marked decisive change in the history of suicide. His analysis of criminal proceedings and death records shows that magistrates of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries often imposed penalties against the bodies and estates of those who took their lives. According to beliefs shared by theologian John Calvin, magistrates, and common folk, self-murder was caused by demon possession. Similar views and practices were found among both Protestants and Catholics throughout Reformation Europe. By contrast, in the late eighteenth century many philosophes defended the right to take one's life under certain circumstances; Geneva’s magistrates in effect decriminalized suicide; and even commoners blamed suicide on mental illness or personal reversals, not on satanic influences.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this case study of the Republic of Geneva, Jeffrey R. Watt convincingly argues the early modern era marked decisive change in the history of suicide. His analysis of criminal proceedings and death records shows that magistrates of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries often imposed penalties against the bodies and estates of those who took their lives. According to beliefs shared by theologian John Calvin, magistrates, and common folk, self-murder was caused by demon possession. Similar views and practices were found among both Protestants and Catholics throughout Reformation Europe. By contrast, in the late eighteenth century many philosophes defended the right to take one's life under certain circumstances; Geneva’s magistrates in effect decriminalized suicide; and even commoners blamed suicide on mental illness or personal reversals, not on satanic influences.

More books from Truman State University Press

Cover of the book In Missouri’s Wilds by Jeffrey R. Watt
Cover of the book Daughter, Daedalus by Jeffrey R. Watt
Cover of the book Unbridled Cowboy by Jeffrey R. Watt
Cover of the book The Different War by Jeffrey R. Watt
Cover of the book Philosophical Works by Jeffrey R. Watt
Cover of the book Emigrants on the Overland Trail: The Wagon Trains of 1848 by Jeffrey R. Watt
Cover of the book Watkins Mill by Jeffrey R. Watt
Cover of the book High Anxiety by Jeffrey R. Watt
Cover of the book Primitive Mood by Jeffrey R. Watt
Cover of the book The Girls of Usually by Jeffrey R. Watt
Cover of the book Red Beans and Ricely Yours by Jeffrey R. Watt
Cover of the book Compass by Jeffrey R. Watt
Cover of the book Rebel on the Road: And Why I Was Never Neutral by Jeffrey R. Watt
Cover of the book Social Relations, Politics, and Power in Early Modern France by Jeffrey R. Watt
Cover of the book Trout Streams of the Heart by Jeffrey R. Watt
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy