Historical Communities : Cities, Erudition, and National Identity in Early Modern France

Half Title 2 Series Information 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction 14 1 The Dynamics of Local History 16 2 Urban History and the French Kingdom 25 3 The Republic of Letters and the Fortunes of Erudite History 29 4 Urban History: A Preview 33 Chapter 1 Writing Urban History 38 1 Historical Writing in Sixteenth-Century Le Mans 44 2 Local Audiences and Historical Traditions 50 3 The Politics of Historical Erudition in the Duchy of Burgundy 57 4 Historical Disagreement and Community Identity in Seventeenth-Century Le Mans 67 Chapter 2 Municipal History and Urban Privileges 80 1 Historical Writing at the Hôtel de Ville 83 2 Municipal History in Print 94 3 The Comparative Impulse and Its Effects 106 Chapter 3 François de Belleforest, National Sentiment, and Local Scholarship 117 1 Belleforest and the French People 123 2 Local Testimonies, Urban Contacts 129 3 Belleforest, Historian 141 4 Local History in Print 149 Chapter 4 Origin Stories 155 1 Origin Stories: Evolution and Persistence 158 2 The Prestige of Classical Antiquity 171 Chapter 5 Urban History and Capitalité: The Rivalry between Clermont and Riom 183 1 The Argument from Antiquity and the Debate over Gergovia 186 2 Capitalité and the Rivalry between Clermont and Riom 198 2.1 The Treaty of 1557 and the “County of Clermont” 200 2.2 The “Sénéchaussée d’Auvergne,” the Seat of Royal Justice, and Religious Rivalries 208 Chapter 6 Ancient History, Sacred History, and French National Sentiment 219 1 Ancient Gaul and the Nature of France 222 2 Roman Aquitaine and the French Church 227 3 Gallic Aristocracy, French Monarchy 239 Chapter 7 Genealogical History and Local History: André Duchesne and the History of France 247 1 The Cour de Justice of Guyenne and Historical Investigation 251 2 Duchesne and the “Perfect Topography” of France 263 3 Genealogical History and the Counts of Autun 275 4 Conclusions 286 Chapter 8 Irreconcilable Histories?: André Duchesne and the Contested History of Reims 289 1 Nicolas Bergier: A Man of Connections 292 2 André Duchesne and the History of Reims 297 3 Competing Historical Visions 306 4 Jean Rogier’s Historical Memoranda 311 Chapter 9 Recent History: Remembering the Wars of Religion 325 1 Strategies of Circumspection, Stance of Silence 329 2 Public Memory, Personal History 334 3 Catholic Histories, Protestant Sources 345 4 Orléans and the Wars of Religion 353 Conclusion: Looking Back on Local History 363 Bibliography 378 Archival and Manuscript Sources 378 Published Primary Sources 382 Secondary Literature 400 Index 420 "Historical Communities reveals the importance of urban history writing in early modern France, from the 1560s to the 1660s, both for individual towns and the French kingdom. Grounded in published and manuscript works, archival sources, correspondence, and research notes, the book demonstrates how historical traditions mattered to city inhabitants and how local elites combined historical narratives with social and political objectives. Numerous conflicts emerged, including debates regarding city origins, the early French Church, noble genealogies, and the memory of the French Wars of Religion. Simultaneously, provincial scholars maintained active contacts within the Republic of Letters, grounding local research and writing in developing erudite methodologies and making them integral to the ongoing process of forging a French historical identity"-- Provided by publisher