in France in the mid-fourteenth century. Without such cataclysms, the role of arresting devices was played by the older age at first marriage (males), the growing proportions unmarried (up to about 25 % in young males), various ways of preventing remarriages etc. Objectively, it came as a kind of reaction to the excessiveness of human reproductive resources.
Demographic regulation was here functioning «from below». If even the elders, or local authorities, should recommend postponing a marriage, recommendations like that could emerge as a conventional norm of behaviour only as a result of longstanding practice, when they became an integral part of the code of morals. Since that moment, the attitude to postponement of marriage as a necessity functioned subconsciously, or not quite consciously; or in other words, demographic regulation in this form was spontaneous as a rule, based upon socio-cultural clichés, not on any legal prescriptions.
The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries retained the same forms of spontaneous demographic regulation, which at that time provided for a relative stability of population numbers, having become even more vivid than before. The eighteenth century saw a change of the situation: though the spontaneous reglamentation of the age at first marriage was still in action and even toughened, the period was marked by intensive demographic growth of a new socio-cultural standard of family birth control. The phenomenon of medieval France thus shows a great effect of stereotypes of behaviour on the character of reproductive process. It was regulated through changes within the system of mass socio-cultural concepts and stereotypes of demographic behaviour. These very changes checked the unbalanced demographic growth.
The interpretation of principal demographic features of each of the periods of French demographic history studied here, reveals both their specific character and succession. Treating the various forms of expression of this succession, the author noted the existence, through nearly the whole millennium under study, of similar trends towards a greater toughening of marriage rules, a constant pushing up of the age at first marriage, intensification of vital behaviour, a constant improvement in puericulture, decrease in death-rate, etc. These similar trends of the evolution of demographic behaviour were deep-rooted. It would be hard not to see the commensurability of the evolution of demographic behaviour and the general tendency of the evolution of medieval society as a whole, which, as is well known, was characterized by a gradual, though not uninterrupted, growth.
It has already been mentioned above, that the system of demographic concepts was nevertheless an independent element of reality. What in the system itself made it relatively stable? What made the succession possible? Here we should keep in mind, first of all, that in human lives there could hardly exist stereotypes more permanently reproduced than those which determined nuptial, procreative or vital conduct. They all constituted everyday practice, in the true sense of the word. Everyday practice naturally made traditional and conventional stereotypes especially stable, hardly changeable. Sexual moralities are not accidentally considered to be one of the most conservative and stable components of culture. Paradoxically, the very fact that the rules of this moral code were everywhere and everyday performed, made individual deviations more and more frequent. Such deviations could become more frequent also because demographic behaviour constitutes the most intimate sphere of human lives, where any social control would be practically impossible. Most often, the deviations occurred within the deep-rooted trends, and were not so much of a qualitative character, as a quantitative one: a further pushing up of the age at first marriage; a stricter fulfillment of marriage rules; a greater intensification of vital behaviour etc. The «freedom gap» some individuals retained regarding most conventional stereotypes of behaviour, was used most often in that way. It was very seldom that it could be used to create principally new forms of conduct, and yet it was not impossible. The practice of voluntary regulation of fertility, scarce at its initial stage, but spreading more and more widely into daily routine, is only one example illustrating the phenomenon.
As to the demographic growth proper, which in medieval France was a stable feature of demographic development, it was preconditioned not only by clichés of behaviour. It was also stimulated by the expansion of the territory of France, intensified cultivation of lands, social and economic upsurge, the state’s political consolidation, etc. Yet the consequences of the growth were not always monosemantic. As the internal and external expansion of the French feudalism was completed, the further demographic growth presented a more and more acute problem. The country faced the menace of overpopulation.
For many decades Soviet historiography treated the problem of overpopulation in a simplified way: any overpopulation was considered «relative», caused by temporary difficulties, which nevertheless could be overcome only through changes in the «economic basis of society». The history of France shows that the excess of human resources had existed there very early, at least since the end of the thirteenth century, and kept through different variants of the «economic basis» (periods of calamity excluded). The traditional view that the Middle Ages constantly suffered from underpopulation is in many respects mythical. Even in those early times, people were forced to resist unbalanced demographic growth, and found means to limit it. Underestimating the role of socio-cultural means of regulation of historical process, students of history had for a long time overlooked their role in demographic regulation as well.
To trace demographic processes in their relation to demographic concepts and demographic behaviour is one of the characteristic undertakings of new demographic history. Besides revealing quantitative parameters of various demographic phenomena, it plunges into research of motives of human actions in the demographic sphere, and the sources of those motives. This does not only expand the territory of the demographic history of old, it also changes its very character. Converging with historio-cultural anthropology, the new demographic history contributes greatly to the creation of historical synthesis. This book is an attempt to help the new demographic history to mature.
Список сокращений
ВИ — «Вопросы истории»
ВФ — «Вопросы философии»
СЭ — «Советская этнография»
ФЕ — «Французский ежегодник»
ADH — Annales de démographie historique
AL–Lille A. Liber poenitentialis. Louvain; Lille, 1965. T. 1–2
Annales E. S. C. — Annales: Économie. Sociétés. Civilisation
B — Beaumanoir Ph. Coutumes de Beauvaisis / Publ. par A. Salmon. P., 1899–1900. T. 1–2
Blois — Robert de Blois / Ed. par J. H. Fox. P., 1950
Burch. — Burchardus Wormacensis. Decretum // PL. T. 140
Cart. — Cartulaire
Chartes — Le Lanquedoc et le Rouergue dans le Trésor des Chartes / Ed. Y. Dossat, A. Lamasson, Ph. Wolff. P., 1983
Dog. (D) — Iustiniani Digesta // Corpus iuris civilis. Institutiones, Digesta. Berolini, 1928. T. 1
Fougère — Estienne de Fougères. Livre des Manières: Rimarium, Grammatik, Wörterbuch und neuer Textabdruck. Marburg, 1887
HE — Ordericus Vitalis. Historia Ecclesiastica / Ed. M. Chibnall. Oxford, 1978
Les douze mois figures — Les douze mois figurez / Ed. J. Morawski // Archiviun Romanicum. Nouva rivista di filologia romanza. Genève, 1926. Vol. X. N 3–4
MA — Le Moyen Age
PL — Patrologae Cursus Completus. Ser. Latina
PN — Philippe de Novare. Des IV. tenz d’aage d’ome / Ed. par M. Fréville. P., 1888
RH — Revue Historique
Иллюстрации
1. Сотворение мира и человека
Миниатюра из рукописи «Реймского миссала»
Конец XIII века. РНБ, Lat. Q.v.I.78. Л. 20
2. Предубеждение против брака в церковной доктрине
Миниатюра из рукописи Готье де Куэнси «Жизнь и чудеса Богоматери»
Конец XIII века. Франция (Суассон?). РНБ, Fr. F.v. XIV. 9. Л. 87
Пораженный красотой статуи Богоматери, некий юноша поклялся ей в верности (слева вверху). Когда, забыв о своей клятве, он женился, Богоматерь, явившаяся к ложу молодоженов, обвиняла его в том, что он предпочел земную любовь небесной (слева внизу). Пристыженный юноша согласился принять постриг (справа вверху). Он убедил стать монахиней и молодую жену (справа внизу).
3. Представление о верховенстве церкви в брачных делах
Миниатюра из рукописи Готье де Куэнси «Жизнь и чудеса Богоматери»
Конец XIII века. Франция (Суассон?). РНБ, Fr. F.v. XIV.9. Л. 105
Ревнивая жена тщетно молилась Богоматери о погибели соперницы (слева вверху). Так как о том же молилась и ее соперница, Богоматерь внушила каждой из женщин желание повиниться друг перед другом (слева внизу и справа вверху). Это примирило обеих (справа внизу).
4. Мирская любовь. Резные шкатулки из слоновой кости начала XIV века
Воспроизводится по изданию: Sibylle Harksen. Die Frauim Mittellalter. Edition Leipzig, 1974, ill. 58
Вверху:
1. Любовники. Частная коллекция, Турин
2. Любовники. Частная коллекция, Париж
Внизу:
3. Супруги. Британский музей, Лондон
4. Супруги. Музей Виктории и Альберта, Лондон
5. Мирская любовь
Миниатюра из рукописи «История любви в картинках»
Франция (Турень), начало XVI века. Музей Конде, Шантийи. Ms. 388. Fol. 3
Благородная дама перед зеркалом и восхищенный супруг.