Les relations intrafamiliales en Dordogne à la fin du XVIIIe siècle et au début du XIXe siècle
(2013)
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- Authors
- Supervisors
- Servais, Paul
- Abstract
- (en) Studying past family relationships in Dordogne has a twofold interest. It first relates to establishing which forms of family organization prevail in this specific French region: the Dordogne, formerly Périgord, is in historiography located on the fringe of the stem families area, in south-western France. Second, the aim is to identify the relationships among family members in this particular context. Inheritance practices are crucial to understand how families are organised and how family members are tied. Beyond the legal, economic, patrimonial approaches, is it possible to perceive the private, sentimental side of the family relationships? The families living in the village of Saint-Léon-sur-l'Isle, Dordogne, between 1780 and 1839 are mainly studied through notarial acts, especially marriage contracts, wills and acts of inheritance. As a result, the prevalent model appears to be the complex family and the inheritance inequalities, even if other organization forms can also be found, as the community of living (brothers' association) or the inheritance equality, in which some families do not choose any particular heir. In this context, family relationships are hierarchically organised, following the rules set up by the father. Through the exercise of parental authority, access to the family assets is both controlled and differentiated and the other members of the family are kept in economic dependence. This hierarchy is challenged by deprived children, especially – but not only – during the French Revolution. Families then try to compensate for the inequalities and to reach a consensus: they eventually seem to operate within negotiated rather than imposed relationships. Despite the essentially materialistic nature of these relationships, intimate links of affection are also perceptible: some are clearly expressed in the acts, others are indirectly known because they underlie some economical or financial transactions between the family members.
- Affiliations
UCLouvain HIAR - Histoire, art et archéologie
Citations
Lévêque, I. (2013). Les relations intrafamiliales en Dordogne à la fin du XVIIIe siècle et au début du XIXe siècle. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/206817