A la recherche des aïeuls du Maine
- Autores: Anne Fillon
- Localización: Annales de démographie historique, ISSN 0066-2062, Nº 1, 1991 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Grands-parents, aïeux), págs. 33-50
- Idioma: francés
- Enlaces
-
Resumen
Deeds of notarial offices are rarely concerned with grand parents. In a given village, 64 % of bridegrooms married for the first time have lost their father, 40 % their mother whereas less than 3 % of marriage settlements mention a grand father or a grand mother. 120 deeds dealing with orphan placements reveal only 10 grand parents. In a nuclear family structure, one of the most egalitarian customs in France has destructed paternal power. The grand father appears when humbly seeking shelter in one of his children's house. Until 1750, people of fifty regard themselves as diminished. Traces of the few grand parents found show nevertheless an evolution towards a humanisation of this status and a later age of impotence. The memoires of a village serge-maker enable us to observe a relationship between generations in about 1760. Keeper of the family memory, Louis Simon's grand father is also a raconteur of wonderful exploits and he serves as a yardstick of progress. Representativity of the samples, established for the Maine, cannot yet be extended to all western France.
