'This is a splendid book, carefully honed over several years, beautifully written, and a delight to read.' David Warren Sabean, Journal of Social History

• List of illustrations; Acknowledgments; List of abbreviations; Glossary; Introduction: defiled trades; Part I. The Meaning of Dishonor in Early Modern Society: 1. Medieval versus early modern dishonor; 2. Honor, status and pollution; Part II. The Dishonorable Milieu: 3. The status of executioners and skinners, 1500–1700; 4. Living on the periphery of dishonor; Part III. Paradoxical Dishonor: Punishment and Healing: 5. The infamous fur coat, or the unintended consequences of social discipline; 6. The executioner's healing touch: health and honor in early modern German medical practice; Part IV. Artisanal Honor and Urban Politics: 7. Guardians of honor: artisans versus magistrates; 8. Honor and dishonor in the eighteenth century; Conclusion: dishonor and the society of orders; Select bibliography; Index.

'This is a splendid book, carefully honed over several years, beautifully written, and a delight to read.' David Warren Sabean, Journal of Social History

• List of illustrations; Acknowledgments; List of abbreviations; Glossary; Introduction: defiled trades; Part I. The Meaning of Dishonor in Early Modern Society: 1. Medieval versus early modern dishonor; 2. Honor, status and pollution; Part II. The Dishonorable Milieu: 3. The status of executioners and skinners, 1500–1700; 4. Living on the periphery of dishonor; Part III. Paradoxical Dishonor: Punishment and Healing: 5. The infamous fur coat, or the unintended consequences of social discipline; 6. The executioner's healing touch: health and honor in early modern German medical practice; Part IV. Artisanal Honor and Urban Politics: 7. Guardians of honor: artisans versus magistrates; 8. Honor and dishonor in the eighteenth century; Conclusion: dishonor and the society of orders; Select bibliography; Index.

'This is a splendid book, carefully honed over several years, beautifully written, and a delight to read.' David Warren Sabean, Journal of Social History

• List of illustrations; Acknowledgments; List of abbreviations; Glossary; Introduction: defiled trades; Part I. The Meaning of Dishonor in Early Modern Society: 1. Medieval versus early modern dishonor; 2. Honor, status and pollution; Part II. The Dishonorable Milieu: 3. The status of executioners and skinners, 1500–1700; 4. Living on the periphery of dishonor; Part III. Paradoxical Dishonor: Punishment and Healing: 5. The infamous fur coat, or the unintended consequences of social discipline; 6. The executioner's healing touch: health and honor in early modern German medical practice; Part IV. Artisanal Honor and Urban Politics: 7. Guardians of honor: artisans versus magistrates; 8. Honor and dishonor in the eighteenth century; Conclusion: dishonor and the society of orders; Select bibliography; Index.