A Lutheran plague : murdering to die in the eighteenth century / by Tyge Krogh.

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2012], ©2012.

vi, 226 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Introduction -- Frequency -- The murderers' social situation and mental state -- Religious motives -- The authorities and the murders -- Pietism and the murderers -- Motives -- Boundaries -- Divine demands -- Salvation of the soul -- A Lutheran plague -- The Danish decree of 1767 -- Measures taken against the suicide murders in Germany -- The role of suicide murders in the penal reform debates -- From salvation to insanity -- Conclusion -- Appendix : suicide murder cases in Copenhagen, 1697-1789.

Includes bibliographical references and index.