Tales of mystery and intrigue have captured the imagination of society since before the dawn of written language. However, complete narratives which centre around a deadly crime wouldn’t emerge until, well, society had formed a basic judicial system through the centralisation of power.
While the majority of homo sapiens have been able to determine right from wrong for quite some time now (though this certainly remains up for debate), it can be argued that it was the progressive civilizing process which, according to German sociologist Norbert Elias, took place in Western Europe from the late Middle Ages, which truly made sin something to be reviled and subsequently punished. Trickery, theft, deceit and even murder – well, that’s just awfully bad manners.
