Pt. 1. Violence. Long-term trends in homicide: Amsterdam, fifteenth-twentieth centuries ; Homicide and the law in the Dutch Republic: a peaceful country? ; Violence and culture: bloodshed in two or three worlds -- Pt. 2. Punishment and social control. Punishment, power and history: Foucault and Elias ; Monkey butt's mate: on informal social control, standards of violence and notions of privacy ; "The green, green grass of home:" reflections on capital punishment and the penal system in Europe and America from a long-term perspective -- Pt. 3. Civilizing the body in human history. Elites and etiquette: changing standards of personal conduct in the Netherlands until 1800 ; Civilizing celebrations: an exploration of the festive universe ; The body's end: death and paradise in human history.