Communities of Belief: Cultural and Social Tension in Early Modern France

by Robin Briggs

This book is about attitudes and behavior in early modern France, dealing particularly with the conflicts related to social and intellectual changes, and with the tensions between the elite and the common people. Topics discussed include witchcraft, popular belief and superstition, confession, the family, Church and State, and popular revolt. Briggs combines the methods of social history and of "histoire de mentalités" to produce an in-depth analysis of the changes and tensions which mark this period as one of vital development in all these areas. The book offers a lively critique of some current interpretations of seventeenth-century France, which have been the subject of much recent controversy.

432 pages, Paperback

First published February 16, 1989

About the author

My co-author Joel Greer and I were neighbors in the 60s. We reconnected via Facebook in late 2019. As a result, in 2020 when COVID-19 was in full swing, we created the CORONA RICHMOND Facebook page to provide a venue for a wide variety of friends to talk about how the pandemic was affecting their lives - whether mundane or live-threatening, suffering anxiety or providing hope. All contributed to this anthology of short, well-written vignettes about their lives In the Year of the Virus.

I am a former law firm Office Administrator, now retired, living in Pacifica, California. I have always had a passion for writing, especially travel logs.

Joel Greer is a retired sports writer, spending the last 55 years in a variety of journalistic endeavors, most notably as a college football writer/editor for the Bleacher Report website. He lives in Richmond, Virginia.