Misdaad en straf aan het Hof van Friesland (1692-1698)

The article examines a digitized criminal sentence book (1692-1698) of the Court of Friesland, assessing the effectiveness of digital tools such as Atlas.ti and QGIS in the analysis of large datasets. The sentence book serves as a test case in this analysis. The study identifies patterns in the number of defendants, their geographical origins, the nature of the crimes, the convictions and the punishments imposed, including banishment and the death penalty. Atlas.ti demonstrates clear advantages by allowing for the automated organization and quantification of data, although early modern texts still pose challenges due to spelling variation. Nonetheless, its potential becomes evident when standardized codes are applied. QGIS proved especially useful in visualizing the geographical origins of defendants, enabling analysis by gender and type of offense through layered maps. This case study underscores the enduring relevance of legal historical research, even in the age of digital tools.