ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with violence against parents from the point of view of its historical development. The chapter provides an overview of quantitative estimates of criminal cases collected in the archives by the authors and other scholars to show continuity in the low numbers of parricides and to highlight any fluctuations in the abuse of parents across societies and times to contextualise the contemporary discussion on the motivations and reasons for violence against parents. We consider the societal and cultural factors that are likely to affect such fluctuations or continuities statistically. Finally, we discuss attitudes to violence against parents and parricide in past societies, and how normative concepts of obedience and authority emerged to protect both parents from abuse and political power (the patriarchy) from attack.
