Seigneurs Et Paysans: Hommes Et Structures Du Moyen Age

by Georges Duby

La France du Moyen Âge est immense et diverse. D'un pays à l'autre, parfois d'un canton à l'autre, ni la densité de la population, ni l'état des techniques de production ne sont semblables. Seules cependant, l'universelle présence du grand domaine est un trait fondamental de l'économie rurale. Les articles ici rassemblés nous restituent au plus près la démarche de l'historien. De Cluny aux Alpes du Sud, du Mâconnais aux villes provençales, Georges Duby dévoile, exploite la richesse des textes et interprète ou déplore le silence des sources. Il nous retrace la vie des seigneuries, les bourgs aux pouvoirs partagés, l'effort des moines paysans, la diversité même de l'économie du Moyen Âge. On complètera la lecture de ce volume avec celle de La Société chevaleresque(Hommes et structures du Moyen Age I).

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval

278 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Peter Toth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm continuing my journey in Duby's works and I'm getting more and more convinced that for every medievalist, his works are absolute must-reads. This slim Hungarian volume from 1978 contains only a few essays from him, it does not even seem to be a full book for some reason, other editions I see here are double the page-count. Anyway, we get 5 essays from Duby, focusing on agriculture, the monks and abbeys, demographic trends, the appearance of knighthood and lastly about medieval societies as a whole. All of his works are based on decades of research into medieval manuscripts from the early medieval / late antiquity up until the 15th century on the territories that eventually became France. His style is therefore very scientific, to my great joy - includes typical latin words and expressions and explains them too. Some of the concepts, like the history of mentalities are a little off in Hungarian translation, but overall it can be understood well today.

The last essay I would like to put on a pedestal here about medieval societies. It was prepared when he took one of his professorships and it can really be considered as his ars poetica. I adore the work of all French 20th century historians from Bloch or Febvre to Duby or Braudel. They have created a necessary new view to look at historical research, medieval societies in general and opened our eyes to long-time-horizon changes that germinate for centuries before some major change happens in world history. For this, I absolutely recommend reading Duby as he was part of this great current that changed the way we look at the so called 'Middle-Ages'.

[Vasco Ribeiro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tinha a expectativa de ser muito mais interessante do que afinal é.