TigerEye, 

Bringing up violent crime and murder in societies that predate the invention or introduction of firearms is intended to make one salient point:  that the safety of their citizens then depended more upon individual brute physical strength or sheer force of numbers than is the case in U.S. society today.  A thing that remains unchanged throughout the ages is that the wealthier you are, the more security (safety) you can afford to buy.  But one thing that has most definitely changed is that now a 100 lb female has the credible means to stop a 300 lb brute from having his way with her, or that a senior citizen today has within his or her means a tool to deter a 20-year-old thug.  This was not nearly the case when "personal weapon" was limited technologically to bladed weapons.

All said and done, I'd not regard as safer or idyllic civilizations that existed a thousand years ago, however gunless they may have been.  I would guess most females amongst us would agree in spades.