Violence in culture and society is widely studied and hotly debated issue. Researchers of vernacular traditions or folklore have a special entrance point into studying violence, as many forms of violence are based on traditions and are justified with a reference to tradition. Some of these violent traditions are openly supported in their respective communities, but others call for research to explain how they survive when they are not explicitly and intentionally sustained or why they persist while being perceived as negative, oppressive, or degrading. The challenging point in understanding violence is that it is not always clear what counts as violence.

The present volume explores a variety of issues in research into traditions of violence from all over the world and through the ages. The book contains an introduction and thirteen chapters with diverse and complementary perspectives, written by both younger and more established scholars in research into traditions.