Time cycles of homicide in the early modern Nordic area

Abstract

An extensive body of criminological research has shown that criminal and violent behaviour manifests time patterns in terms of daily, weekly and annual cycles. This is consistent with criminological routine activities theory. Can we generalize these patterns to historical periods?In this article, we draw on a recently created unique dataset, covering the years 1608 to 1699 in three Nordic regions, to explore time cycles of offending in the early modern period. Examining daily, weekly and annual cycles, we find that lethal violence manifested strong time patterns in the early modern period. The role of public holidays was central especially in the period lasting from Christmas to Midsummer. Probing the role of key routines, we disaggregated the composition of homicide cycles by alcohol use and place of occurrence. The findings indicated that early modern homicide time cycles were associated with alcohol use and activities in private places. We conclude by discussing the strengths and limitations of our data and by suggesting further research in the promising frontier of standardized long duration homicide research.

Nordic Homicide in Deep Time: Lethal Violence in the Early Modern Era and Present Times

“…Some of them may have reflected disagreements triggered in the previous day or evening. In the overall data, the percentage of offences committed under the influence of alcohol was highest in crimes committed on Sundays and Mondays (Kivivuori et al, 2020b).…”

“…Even fear of darkness could have been involved (Duedahl & Langen, 2015). While the evening hours were in all three regions the most likely time of homicide, in other respects there was some variation (Kivivuori et al, 2020b). The partially different daily profile of Finnish homicide may reflect geographical difference, as the Finnish study region was nearly 1,000 kilometres to the north from the two other study regions, a fact that also affects natural lighting conditions.…”

“…We are in a position to answer this question, as the aim of our project was to extend standardized description to the pre-statistics era. We have examined the time cycles of homicide in greater detail in a previously published article (Kivivuori et al, 2020b). In this chapter, we briefly summarize the findings in that regard, while adding new ways of looking at the time cycles.…”

“…Owing to long distances, going to Sunday church could require an overnight stay. The tradition of Saturday bathing in the sauna could also impact the weekly pattern (Kivivuori et al, 2020b). The social nature of sauna-related activities (Vuorenjuuri, 1967) was such that they could be linked to risk of conflict.…”

“…In the complete data, about one third of homicides in this winter/spring period occurred on public holidays, while this share was much lower during the summer and autumn. Homicides taking place on public holidays were frequently committed under the influence of alcohol (Kivivuori et al, 2020b).…”