Digital mapping projects are investigating episodes of violence in pre-modern societies in new ways.

Interpersonal violence often erupted in pre-modern societies. Recent studies of late medieval England recount murders in urban centers: “A spice merchant stabbed by a fruit seller over a longstanding feud. A street musician murdered for playing music too loudly after dusk. A deadly quarrel among servants of the Queen of England. And who killed the innkeeper with a sword after a fight?”

Medieval Murder Maps is a digital humanities project based at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. The New York Times reports on this digital mapping project that investigates murders in medieval England: “These homicide cases, discovered by historians in centuries-old records, may be long closed. But fans of true crime and history can now peruse them in an interactive medieval murder map released in September by University of Cambridge researchers.”

According to The New York Times, “Users can click through the back stories of more than 300 murders in the English cities of London, York and Oxford. Entries are searchable by gender, day of the week and even weapon (pole-axe or crossbow?).”

This digital mapping project lies at the intersection of the fields of Digital Humanities and Violence Studies.

The New York Times reports on digital mapping and violence studies. The Medieval Murder Maps website publishes digital maps on murders in medieval England.