The Medieval Prison: A Social History
by G. Geltner
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Book Summary Information
Author: G. GeltnerEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-07-01
ISBN: 0691135339
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Book Reviews of The Medieval Prison: A Social History
Book Review: A Dud, or Not?
Summary: 3 Stars
The Medieval Prison: A Social History
No one like to purchase a book that is a dud; well, this book was sort of a dud and yet it wasn't. In scholarly terms, the research and notes were exemplary and the bibliography extensive. In terms of content, MEDIEVAL PRISONS: A SOCIAL HISTORY gives the administrative structure, the organization of physical layouts, economic aspects, numbers of "clients", and attitudes toward punitative imprisonment, but completely leaves out any speculation about the human element except for a few, a very few, quotes from prisoners about how dreadful the experience was in fact or in anticipation. An appendix has a poem by a prisoner reflecting on his experience. There are a couple of passing references to chained prisoners, torture, and dismemberment (how much those who did it were paid) and execution. Mention is made of a dismemberment "For debt" but there is no explanation if that punishment was common or if one was supposed to assume the labeling of the action was obscure. Comparison to other contemporary prison systems was all but nil except for a quotation from a German observer. The author's subject was Italian prisons, not who occupied them or what their experience was within the penal justice system except insofar as they could be counted as varieties of prisoners (male, female, major and minor malefactors, debtors). The effect of institutional prisons on the Italian justice system was not discussed. On the one hand, you have to admire an author for such exclusive sticking to his subject; on the other, the effect was as dry as dust, however informative with regard to facts. So yes, for anyone not in the field of Italian medieval prisons, the book is a dud; moreover, the title was highly misleading. Personally, the only interesting element of the book was the extensive discussion of imprisonment for debt and its destructive effect on the financial stability of the prison system.
Summary of The Medieval Prison: A Social History
The modern prison is commonly thought to be the fruit of an Enlightenment penology that stressed man's ability to reform his soul. The Medieval Prison challenges this view by tracing the institution's emergence to a much earlier period beginning in the late thirteenth century, and in doing so provides a unique view of medieval prison life.
G. Geltner carefully reconstructs life inside the walls of prisons in medieval Venice, Florence, Bologna, and elsewhere in Europe. He argues that many enduring features of the modern prison--including administration, finance, and the classification of inmates--were already developed by the end of the fourteenth century, and that incarceration as a formal punishment was far more widespread in this period than is often realized. Geltner likewise shows that inmates in medieval prisons, unlike their modern counterparts, enjoyed frequent contact with society at large. The prison typically stood in the heart of the medieval city, and inmates were not locked away but, rather, subjected to a more coercive version of ordinary life. Geltner explores every facet of this remarkable prison experience--from the terror of an inmate's arrest to the moment of his release, escape, or death--and the ways it was viewed by contemporary observers.
The Medieval Prison rewrites penal history and reveals that medieval society did not have a "persecuting mentality" but in fact was more nuanced in defining and dealing with its marginal elements than is commonly recognized.
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