Criminology as a science that studies crime is the result of a reaction to chaos and irregularities in European countries. Early theories in criminology and other social sciences were disturbed by revolts and revolutions in the 18th and 19th centuries. Talking about criminology means talking about knowledge because criminology is identified from its name, which is crimen and logos, which means the study of crime. In general, knowledge appeared in ancient times, which is in the Greek or Roman era. However, it does not apply to criminology. As stated before, studying criminology and studying crime are two different things. According to Bonger, the history of the development of criminology is gradually divided into several chapters, as follows:
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- Ancient Ages (Greek and Roman);
- Medieval Period
- Early Modern Period (16th century);
- 18th Century to the French Revolution;
- Post-French Revolution.
If Bonger’s view on the history of the development of criminology is studied again, there is a clear dividing line regarding the real development of criminology, which is the birth of the Renaissance in Europe. Therefore, in this writing, Bonger’s view will be simplified by dividing the history of the development of criminology into two stages, which are pre-Renaissance and post-Renaissance.
Renaissance was a cultural movement that greatly influenced European intellectual life in the early modern period. Starting from Italy and spreading throughout Europe in the 16th century. The influence of the renaissance was widely found in the fields of literature, philosophy, art, music, politics, knowledge, religion, and so on. There are a number of reasons why the renaissance was chosen as a dividing line in the history of the development of criminology, including:
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- There were differences in thought patterns in the era pre and post renaissance;
- The number of discoveries that supported the development of knowledge and directly looked at the crime of various scientific disciplines;
- The birth of many revolutions in Europe post-renaissance era which brought structural changes in society;
- Opinions about the causes of crime were more concrete and varied.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
