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Frontmatter -- Contents -- Map and Tables -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1 Suicides, Homicides, and Accidents: The Data -- 2 The Judicial and Intellectual Dimensions of Suicide -- 3 The Social, Economic, and Political Dimensions of Suicide -- 4 The Cultural Dimensions of Suicide: Part 1 -- 5 The Cultural Dimensions of Suicide: Part 2 -- Epilogue -- About the Author -- Bibliography -- Index

Examines the most successful institution of social discipline in Reformation Europe: the Consistory of Geneva during the time of John Calvin Created by John Calvin, the Consistory of Geneva was a quasi-tribunal entrusted with enforcing Reformed morality. Comprised of pastors and elders, this body met weekly and summoned people for a wide range of "sinful" behavior, such as drunkenness, dancing, blasphemy, or simply quarrels, and was a far more intrusive institution than the Catholic Inquisition. Among the thousands summoned during Calvin's ministry were a pair of women who were allegedly prophets, boys who skipped catechism to practice martial arts, and a good number of people begging for forgiveness for having renounced Protestantism out of fear of death. This superbly researched book, reflecting author Jeffrey Watt's career-long involvement in the ongoing project of transcribing, editing, and publishing the Consistory records, is the first comprehensive examination of this morals court and provides a window into the reception of the Reformation in the so-called Protestant Rome. Watt examines the role of the Consistory in upholding patriarchy, showing that while Genevan authorities did not have a double standard in prosecuting illicit sexuality, the Consistory exhorted women to obey even violently abusive husbands. He finds also that Calvin and his colleagues vigorously promoted a strong work ethic by censuring people, mostly men, for laziness, and showed a surprising degree of skepticism toward accusations of witchcraft. Finally, Watt demonstrates convincingly that, while the Consistory encountered some resistance, Genevans by and large shared the ideals it promoted and that it enjoyed considerable success in fostering discipline in Genevan society. This book is openly available in digital formats, under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC, thanks to a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List Of Illustrations -- List Of Tables -- Introduction:Toward A History Of Suicide In Early Modern Europe / Watt, Jeffrey R. -- 1. The Judicial Treatment of Suicide in Amsterdam / Bosman, Machiel -- 2. Suicide and the Vicar General in London:A Mystery Solved? / Seaver, Paul S. -- 3. Controlling the Body of the Suicide in Saxony / Koslofsky, Craig M. -- 4. The Suicidal Mind and Body: Examples from Northern Germany / Lind, Vera -- 5. Suicidal Murders in Stockholm / Jansson, Arne -- 6. Ambivalence toward Suicide in Golden Age Spain / Dickenson, Elizabeth G. / Boyden, James M. -- 7. Honfibú: Nationhood, Manhood, and the Culture of Self-Sacrifice in Hungary / Lederer, David -- 8. Suicide, Gender, and Religion:The Case of Geneva / Watt, Jeffrey R. -- 9. Suicide in Paris, 1775 / Merrick, Jeffrey -- 10. The Suicide of Sir Samuel Romilly:Apotheosis or Outrage? / Andrew, Donna T. -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Contributors -- Index

Analysis of criminal proceedings and death records for early modem Geneva reveals an explosion in suicides after 1750. New attitudes toward courtship, marriage, and the family contributed to this dramatic increase, as unprecedented numbers of people took their lives because of family concerns, such as marital breakdown, unhappy love stories, and deaths of family members, Greater interest in the companionate marriage was central to these changes. After 1750, marriage, even more than parenthood, offered immunity to suicide, as married people were underrepresented among those who took their lives. Although men constituted the large majority of suicides, women and men shared the growing emphasis on conjugal sentiment, which cut across class lines.

Analysis of all divorce litigation extant in Neuchâtel from the introduction of divorce in the mid-sixteenth century to the early nineteenth century suggests substantial changes, both quantitative and qualitative, over this long period. The proportion of couples going through divorce remained a small minority during the whole period, but the reasons for requesting divorce and the grounds on which divorce was granted changed, with the most noteworthy changes ap pearing in the second half of the eighteenth century. It may be said that by the end of the eighteenth century matrimoniul courts in Neuchâtel had begun to nurture componionate marriage.