Enmity and Violence in Early Modern Europe

Thursday Sept. 21, 2023. 4:00pm
Stuart Carroll, University of York

Welcome at 4:10 by Matt Kavaler and Colin Rose followed by the lecture. Reception is at 5:45 to 6:45pm in the Charbonel Lounge.

In recognition of the importance of the Centre’s Erasmus collection, each year a scholar of international reputation is invited to present a formal fall lecture at the CRRS. The CRRS is happy to feature Dr. Carroll’s Keynote Address for the Worlds of Conflict Conference as the 2023 Erasmus Lecture.

Stuart Carroll will talk about his recently published book, Enmity and Violence in Early Modern Europe, which transforms our understanding of Europe between 1500 and 1800 by exploring how ordinary people felt about their enemies and the violence this engendered. Enmity, a state or feeling of mutual opposition or hostility, became a major social problem during the transition to modernity. He examines how people used the law, and how they characterised their enmities and expressed their sense of justice or injustice. Through the examples of early modern Italy, Germany, France and England, we see when and why everyday animosities escalated and the attempts of the state to control and even exploit the violence that ensued. His book also examines the communal and religious pressures for peace, and how notions of good neighbourliness and civil order finally worked to underpin trust in the state. Ultimately, enmity is not a relic of the past; it remains one of the greatest challenges to contemporary liberal democracy.