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Pitaval

A Pitaval is a collection of causes célèbres.

The name derived from the French advocate François Gayot de Pitaval (1673–1743), wo published several volumes of causes célèbres et intéressantes between 1734 and 1743.

Early works were mainly written for legal professionals but later Pitavals also became popular amongst other readers. In the 19th and early 20th century the idea of publishing criminal cases quickly spread in Europe. Pitavals became a well-known literary genre, which was often imitated.

Examples for Pitavals are Merkwürdige Rechtsfälle (1808/11) by Paul Johann Anselm von Feuerbach, Der neue Pitaval (1842–1890) by Julius Eduard Hitzig and Willibald Alexis, the Prager Pitaval (1931) by Egon Erwin Kisch, Der neue Pitaval (1963) by Herrmann Mostars and Robert Adolf Stemmle, Berühmte Strafprozesse by Maximilian Jactas, Prozesse, die unsere Welt bewegten by Curt Riess and Summa Iniuria: Ein Pitaval der Justizirrtümer by Hans M. Sutermeister (1976).

Many notable authors drew their plots from Pitaval's editions. For example, E. T. A. Hoffmann's short story The Marquise de la Pivardiere (1820) is based on a real criminal case from 1697 (as described by de Pitaval).

From 1957 to 1978 the East German TV series Fernsehpitaval depicted German true crime cases.

Pitaval (disambiguation)

Pitaval may refer to:

  • Pitaval, in general any collection of causes célèbres
  • Der neue Pitaval, a specific collection of causes célèbres, published in 60 volumes between 1842 and 1890 by Julius Eduard Hitzig and Willibald Alexis
  • Summa Iniuria: Ein Pitaval der Justizirrtümer, a specific collection of causes célèbres, published in 1976 by Hans Martin Sutermeister

Pitaval is a surname and may refer to:

  • François Gayot de Pitaval (1673–1743), French advocate, who compiled a famous collection of causes célèbres
  • John Baptist Pitaval (1858–1928), French-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church