The first essay emerges from a long-established tradition of criminal justice history research, namely the study of incidence and prosecution of violence in early modern France. Themes of violence and its control run through the second essay which offers a broad overview of developments in the study of the incidence and prosecution of violence in the German-speaking cities of central Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. The third essay provides an analysis of homicide cases in 16th- and 17th century Castile. It is argued that Castilian society maintained a high degree of tolerance towards violent activity in defense of male honor, as a means of recreation and as an expression of hostility towards those from the outside and the national polity. The fourth essay explores the nature of popular participation in the courts of early modern Sweden and how it might be understood in the light of the dominant perspectives offered within the existing historiography. The fifth essay draws attention to the centrality of the law and legal system in one of the less developed societies in early modern Europe, namely the Isle of Man. The sixth essay focuses on the participation in the courts which examines the prosecution of homicide in pre-Famine and Famine Ireland. Contributing to 18th and 19th century England, the seventh essay reflects the more advanced state of the English historiography offering a somewhat broader and longer-term view of the incidence and prosecution of violent activity. The eighth essay focuses on the prosecution of ‘domestic homicides’ in late Victorian Scotland, stressing the flexibility of the courts in reaching verdicts and imposing sentences. The final essay provides a provocative analysis of representations of crime and criminal justice in 19th century Wales. Index