This is a very valuable contribution to the history of crime and criminal justice. Geltner demonstrates, contrary to the claims of modern historians, that the prison as a punitive institution was born in the later Middle Ages, and shows, contrary to the claims of medieval historians, that prisons were not hellholes. There is no equivalent study of Italian medieval prisons."--Trevor Dean, author of "Crime and Justice in Late Medieval Italy""A most welcome addition to what has been a neglected field of medieval legal and social history. Geltner argues very persuasively that imprisonment was an important phenomenon in medieval Italian cities. "The Medieval Prison" should appeal to a fairly broad audience outside the field of medieval history."--James B. Given, author of "Inquisition and Medieval Society