Roland Mousnier
Encyclopedia
Roland Émile Mousnier was a French historian of the early modern period in France
and of the comparative studies of different civilizations.
and received his education at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes. Between 1932 and 1947, Mousnier worked as a school teacher in Rouen
and Paris
. During the Second World War
, Mousnier was a member of the French Resistance
. After 1945, Mousnier served as a professor at Strasbourg University (1947–1955) and at the Sorbonne
(1955–1977). Keenly interested in social history
, Mousnier went to the United States to learn sociology
and anthropology
. In 1934, Mousnier married Jeanne Lecacheur.
and Marxist views of history. A right-wing Roman Catholic, Mousnier had a famous feud with the Soviet Marxist historian Boris Porchnev
over whether peasant revolts in 17th century France reflected class warfare or not.Mousnier denied there was much of idea of class in France during that period, which thus meant that there could have been no class war in 17th century France as Porchnev maintained. In Mousnier's view, social classes did not emerge as an important factor in French society until the 18th century with the coming of a more market-oriented economy. Mousnier also published the private papers of the chancelier Séguier
in 1964.
Mousnier's most notable claim to fame was his argument that early modern France
was a "society of orders". In Mousnier's view, people in the period from the 15th century to the 18th century regarded honor, status and social prestige as far more important than wealth. As such, society was split vertically via social ranks rather than being split horizontally via class. Mousnier made it his life work to study how the relationships between different orders operated through networks of patronage. Mousnier referred to these relationships as maître-fidèle relations between those in the socially superior and those in the socially inferior orders. In general, Mousnier focused on elites in French society. In his view, differences between such orders as the noblesse d'épée (nobility of the sword) and the noblesse de robe (nobility of the robe) were more important than differences between the nobility and the peasantry. One of Mousnier's best known books, L'Assassinat d'Henri IV (The Assassination of Henry IV) examined the climate of opinion and social context in 1610 France, in which a Catholic fanatic named François Ravaillac
assassinated King Henry IV
. Mousnier's conclusion was that there were numerous "potential Ravaillacs" in France who were looking for a chance to kill the King.
Mousnier also produced the 1969 book Les Hiérarchies sociales (Social Hierarchies) that looked at how different civilizations such as Tibet
, China
, Germany
, Russia
and France
were organized across time. Les Hiérarchies sociales was very critical of communist societies and those based on "technocratic orders", and many have denounced the book as a right-wing rant against Communism
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and of the comparative studies of different civilizations.
Life
Mousnier was born in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and received his education at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes. Between 1932 and 1947, Mousnier worked as a school teacher in Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Mousnier was a member of the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
. After 1945, Mousnier served as a professor at Strasbourg University (1947–1955) and at the Sorbonne
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
(1955–1977). Keenly interested in social history
Social history
Social history, often called the new social history, is a branch of History that includes history of ordinary people and their strategies of coping with life. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in history departments...
, Mousnier went to the United States to learn sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
and anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
. In 1934, Mousnier married Jeanne Lecacheur.
Views
Mousnier was one of the few post-war French historians who was a detractor of both the Annales SchoolAnnales School
The Annales School is a group of historians associated with a style of historiography developed by French historians in the 20th century. It is named after its scholarly journal Annales d'histoire économique et sociale, which remains the main source of scholarship, along with many books and...
and Marxist views of history. A right-wing Roman Catholic, Mousnier had a famous feud with the Soviet Marxist historian Boris Porchnev
Boris Porchnev
Boris Fyodorovich Porshnev , was a Soviet historian known for his works on popular revolts in Ancien Régime France and a doctor of social sciences working on psychology, prehistory and neurolinguistics as relating to the origins of man.- Selected works :...
over whether peasant revolts in 17th century France reflected class warfare or not.Mousnier denied there was much of idea of class in France during that period, which thus meant that there could have been no class war in 17th century France as Porchnev maintained. In Mousnier's view, social classes did not emerge as an important factor in French society until the 18th century with the coming of a more market-oriented economy. Mousnier also published the private papers of the chancelier Séguier
Pierre Séguier
-Early years:Born in Paris, France of a prominent legal family originating in Quercy. His grandfather, Pierre Séguier , was président à mortier in the parlement of Paris from 1554 to 1576, and the chancellor's father, Jean Séguier, a seigneur d'Autry, was civil lieutenant of Paris at the time of...
in 1964.
Mousnier's most notable claim to fame was his argument that early modern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
was a "society of orders". In Mousnier's view, people in the period from the 15th century to the 18th century regarded honor, status and social prestige as far more important than wealth. As such, society was split vertically via social ranks rather than being split horizontally via class. Mousnier made it his life work to study how the relationships between different orders operated through networks of patronage. Mousnier referred to these relationships as maître-fidèle relations between those in the socially superior and those in the socially inferior orders. In general, Mousnier focused on elites in French society. In his view, differences between such orders as the noblesse d'épée (nobility of the sword) and the noblesse de robe (nobility of the robe) were more important than differences between the nobility and the peasantry. One of Mousnier's best known books, L'Assassinat d'Henri IV (The Assassination of Henry IV) examined the climate of opinion and social context in 1610 France, in which a Catholic fanatic named François Ravaillac
François Ravaillac
François Ravaillac was a French factotum in the courts of Angoulême and a regicide. A sometime tutor and Catholic zealot, he murdered King Henry IV of France in 1610.-Early life and education:...
assassinated King Henry IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
. Mousnier's conclusion was that there were numerous "potential Ravaillacs" in France who were looking for a chance to kill the King.
Mousnier also produced the 1969 book Les Hiérarchies sociales (Social Hierarchies) that looked at how different civilizations such as Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
were organized across time. Les Hiérarchies sociales was very critical of communist societies and those based on "technocratic orders", and many have denounced the book as a right-wing rant against Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
.
Work
- La Vénalité des offices sous Henri IV et Louis XIII, 1945.
- Les Règlements du Conseil du Roi sous Louis XIII, 1949.
- Les XVIe et XVIIe siècles : la grande mutation intellectuelle de l'humanité : l'avènement de la science moderne et l'expansion de l'Europe, 1953.
- L'Assassinat d'Henri IV, 1964.
- Lettres et mémoires addressées au chancelier Séguier (1633–1649), 1964.
- Fureurs paysannes: les paysans dans les révoltes du XVIIe siècle (France, Russie, Chine), 1968.
- Les Hiérarchies sociales de 1450 à nos jours, 1969.
- "French Institutions and Society, 1610-1661" from The New Cambridge Modern History, Volume 4: The Decline of Spain and the Thirty Year's War edited by J.P. Cooper, 1970.
- La Plume, la faucille et le marteau : institutions et société en France du Moyen âge à la Révolution, 1970.
- Les Institutions de la France sous la monarchie absolue, 1598-1789, 2 volumes, 1974-1980.
- Paris capitale au temps de Richelieu et de Mazarin, 1978.
- "Les Fidélités et les clientèles en France aux XVIe, XVIIe, et XVIIIe siècles" pages 35–46 from Histoire sociale, Volume 15, 1982.
- L'Homme rouge, ou la vie du cardinal de Richelieu, 1582–1642, 1992.