Has violence changed over the centuries? Has it always held the same meanings for us?

"Introduction.- Part One: Contested Definitions.- Violence: Reflections About a Word.- Violence as an Essentially Contested Concept.- Part Two: Long-Term Trends.- Homicide in Scandinavia: Long-Term Trends and Their Interpretations.- Violence in France's Past: An Anthropological Approach.- The Fall and Rise of Homicide in Ireland.- Part Three: Contemporary Trends.- Violence in Present-Day France: Data and Sociological Analysis.- From Old Threats to Enigmatic Enemies: The Evolution of European Policies from Low Intensity Violence to Homegrown Terrorism.- Part Four: Gendering Violent Practices.- The Language of Violence: Symbolic Body Parts in Marital Conflicts in Early Modern France.- Negotiating Violence and Gender: Security and the Night Time Economy in the UK.- Part Five: Politics, War and Violence.- Xavier Rousseaux, Frédéric Vesentini, Antoon Vrints.- Violence and War: Measuring Homicide in Belgium, 1900-1950.- Democratization and Violence: European and International Perspectives.- Violence and Violence Control in Long-Term Perspective: Testing Elias in Relation to War, Genocide, Crime, Punishment and Sport."

IntroductionSophie Body-GendrotPart One: Contested DefinitionsPieter SpierenburgViolence: Reflections About a WordWillem de HaanViolence as an Essentially Contested ConceptPart Two: Long-Term TrendsDag LindströmHomicide in Scandinavia: Long-Term Trends and Their InterpretationsFrançois PlouxViolence in France's Past: An Anthropological ApproachIan O'DonnellThe Fall and Rise of Homicide in IrelandPart Three: Contemporary TrendsPhilippe RobertViolence in Present-Day France: Data and Sociological AnalysisSophie Body-GendrotFrom Old Threats to Enigmatic Enemies: The Evolution of European Policies from Low Intensity Violence to Homegrown TerrorismPart Four: Gendering Violent PracticesDorothea NoldeThe Language of Violence: Symbolic Body Parts in Marital Conflicts in Early Modern FranceKate O'Brien, Dick Hobbs, Louise WestmarlandNegotiating Violence and Gender: Security and the Night Time Economy in the UKPart Five: Politics, War and ViolenceXavier Rousseaux, Frédéric Vesentini, Antoon VrintsViolence and War: Measuring Homicide in Belgium, 1900-1950Susanne KarstedtDemocratization and Violence: European and International PerspectivesEric DunningViolence and Violence Control in Long-Term Perspective: Testing Elias in Relation to War, Genocide, Crime, Punishment and Sport