Title

“Pour saulver ladicte parroisse⇝ defending rural communities in the Touraine, Blésois, and Sologne during the French Wars of Religion

Abstract

This study examines how eighteen rural communities in the Touraine, Blésois, and Sologne navigated the treacherous waters of religious civil war. Drawing on over a hundred parish account books, it explores how communities engaged with the threats of war by gathering information, protecting the possessions of the parish church, and dealing with the demands of troops and the royal government. In many ways their experiences were similar to those of other communities across France-both urban and rural-as they relied on their own resources and relationships to mitigate the threats of armed confessional conflict. While these communities offer evidence of resilience and agency in the face of war, comparison with other rural communities that endured more sustained and intense warfare reminds us of the fragility of their resilience, which depended on factors outside their control.

Department(s)

History

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1215/00161071-8725823

Keywords

Churchwardens, French Wars of Religion, Parish, Rural communities

Publication Date

2-1-2021

Journal Title

French Historical Studies

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