Violence between parents and children: courts of law in early modern Finland

Abstract

This article studies the attitudes and significance of violence between parents and children as they appear in court records of lower courts and Courts of Appeal in early modern Finland. The paper discusses four kinds of violence: 1) the deliberate killing of children by their parents, 2) neglect of children or their upbringing by the parents and 3) physical or verbal violence by the children towards their parents. These were categories of forbidden violence between parents and children. Fourthly, 4) this paper discusses instances when violence was considered legal and even accepted, the so-called disciplinary violence committed by parents against their children. The important concepts in talking about violence are codes of honour and social hierarchy, the emphasis placed on social order and peace in society. The importance of peace and order emerge particularly when discussing concealment and publicity, responsibility and guilt, as well as of hierarchy. Emotional considerations seem to have been extremely important in violence between parents and children.