Philippe Ariès
Encyclopedia
Philippe Ariès was an important French medievalist and historian
of the family
and childhood
, in the style of Georges Duby
. Ariès has written many books on the common daily life. His most prominent works regarded the change in the western attitudes towards death.
Ariès regarded himself as a "right-wing anarchist". He was initially close to the Action française
, but with time distanced himself from it, viewing it as excessively authoritarian—hence his self-description as an "anarchist". Ariès likewise contributed to La Nation française
, a royalist review. However, he also cooperated with many left-wing French historians and did so especially closely with Michel Foucault
, who wrote his obituary.
Paradoxically, during Ariès' life, his work was often better known in the English-speaking world than it was in France itself. He is known above all for his book L’Enfant et la Vie Familiale sous l’Ancien Régime (1960), which was translated into English as Centuries of Childhood (1962). This book stands pre-eminent in the history of childhood, as it was essentially the first book on the subject (although some antiquarian texts were in existence prior to this). Even today, Ariès remains the standard reference to the topic. Ariès is most famous for his statement that "in medieval society, the idea of childhood did not exist". The central thesis of Centuries of Childhood is that attitudes towards children were progressive, and evolved over time with economic change and social advancement, until childhood, as a concept and an accepted part of family life, came into being in the seventeenth century. It was thought that children were too weak to be counted and that they could disappear at any time. But these children were considered as an adult as soon as they could live without the help of their mothers, nanny, or someone else. Centuries of Childhood has had mixed fortunes. Ariès’ contribution was profoundly significant both in that it recognised childhood as a social construction rather than as a biological given, and in that it founded the history of childhood as a serious field of study. At the same time, his account of childhood has by now been widely criticised.
Ariès is likewise remembered for his invention of another field of study: the history of attitudes to death and dying. Ariès saw death, like childhood, as a social construction. His seminal work in this ambit is L'Homme devant la mort (1977), his last major book, published in the same year when his status as a historian was finally recognised by his induction into the École des hautes études en sciences sociales
(EHESS) as a directeur d'études.
. One of his most noted critics was the historian Geoffrey Elton. Elton's main criticism of Ariès is paraphrased in Richard J. Evans
's book on historiography
, In Defence of History: "in everyday life children were indeed dressed differently to adults; they were just put in adult clothes to have their portraits painted" (1997, 63).
That is to say that Ariès took early modern portraits as an accurate representation of the look of early modern families whereas a lot of the clients would use them to improve their status.
The assertion that the medieval world was ignorant of childhood has undergone considerable attack from other writers (for example, Kroll 1977, Shahar 1990).
Further criticism of Ariès is found in an article, available online, from 1992 by Harry Hendrick for the Journal of the Economic History Society. Within the article, entitled Children and Childhood, Hendrick lists four criticisms of Ariès's work.
"Firstly that his data are either unrepresentative or unreliable. Secondly that he takes evidence out of context, confuses prescription with practice, and uses atypical examples. Thirdly, that he implicitly denies the immutability of the special needs of children, for food, clothing, shelter, affection and conversation. Fourthly, that he puts undue emphasis on the work of moralists and educationalists while saying little of economic and political factors"http://web.archive.org/web/20051222101311/http://www.ehs.org.uk/society/pdfs/Hendrick%2015a.pdf.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
of the family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
and childhood
Childhood
Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence. In developmental psychology, childhood is divided up into the developmental stages of toddlerhood , early childhood , middle childhood , and adolescence .- Age ranges of childhood :The term childhood is non-specific and can imply a...
, in the style of Georges Duby
Georges Duby
Georges Duby was a French historian specializing in the social and economic history of the Middle Ages...
. Ariès has written many books on the common daily life. His most prominent works regarded the change in the western attitudes towards death.
Ariès regarded himself as a "right-wing anarchist". He was initially close to the Action française
Action Française
The Action Française , founded in 1898, is a French Monarchist counter-revolutionary movement and periodical founded by Maurice Pujo and Henri Vaugeois and whose principal ideologist was Charles Maurras...
, but with time distanced himself from it, viewing it as excessively authoritarian—hence his self-description as an "anarchist". Ariès likewise contributed to La Nation française
La Nation française
La Nation française was a French monarchist weekly influenced by Charles Maurras, the founder of the Action française movement...
, a royalist review. However, he also cooperated with many left-wing French historians and did so especially closely with Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
, who wrote his obituary.
Paradoxically, during Ariès' life, his work was often better known in the English-speaking world than it was in France itself. He is known above all for his book L’Enfant et la Vie Familiale sous l’Ancien Régime (1960), which was translated into English as Centuries of Childhood (1962). This book stands pre-eminent in the history of childhood, as it was essentially the first book on the subject (although some antiquarian texts were in existence prior to this). Even today, Ariès remains the standard reference to the topic. Ariès is most famous for his statement that "in medieval society, the idea of childhood did not exist". The central thesis of Centuries of Childhood is that attitudes towards children were progressive, and evolved over time with economic change and social advancement, until childhood, as a concept and an accepted part of family life, came into being in the seventeenth century. It was thought that children were too weak to be counted and that they could disappear at any time. But these children were considered as an adult as soon as they could live without the help of their mothers, nanny, or someone else. Centuries of Childhood has had mixed fortunes. Ariès’ contribution was profoundly significant both in that it recognised childhood as a social construction rather than as a biological given, and in that it founded the history of childhood as a serious field of study. At the same time, his account of childhood has by now been widely criticised.
Ariès is likewise remembered for his invention of another field of study: the history of attitudes to death and dying. Ariès saw death, like childhood, as a social construction. His seminal work in this ambit is L'Homme devant la mort (1977), his last major book, published in the same year when his status as a historian was finally recognised by his induction into the École des hautes études en sciences sociales
École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
The École des hautes études en sciences sociales is a leading French institution for research and higher education, a Grand Établissement. Its mission is research and research training in the social sciences, including the relationship these latter maintain with the natural and life sciences...
(EHESS) as a directeur d'études.
Criticism of Centuries of Childhood
There has been widespread criticism of the methods that Ariès used to draw his conclusions about the role of childhood in early modern EuropeEarly modern Europe
Early modern Europe is the term used by historians to refer to a period in the history of Europe which spanned the centuries between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, roughly the late 15th century to the late 18th century...
. One of his most noted critics was the historian Geoffrey Elton. Elton's main criticism of Ariès is paraphrased in Richard J. Evans
Richard J. Evans
Richard John Evans is a British academic and historian, prominently known for his history of Germany.-Life:Evans was born in London, of Welsh parentage, and is now Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge and President of Wolfson College...
's book on historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
, In Defence of History: "in everyday life children were indeed dressed differently to adults; they were just put in adult clothes to have their portraits painted" (1997, 63).
That is to say that Ariès took early modern portraits as an accurate representation of the look of early modern families whereas a lot of the clients would use them to improve their status.
The assertion that the medieval world was ignorant of childhood has undergone considerable attack from other writers (for example, Kroll 1977, Shahar 1990).
Further criticism of Ariès is found in an article, available online, from 1992 by Harry Hendrick for the Journal of the Economic History Society. Within the article, entitled Children and Childhood, Hendrick lists four criticisms of Ariès's work.
"Firstly that his data are either unrepresentative or unreliable. Secondly that he takes evidence out of context, confuses prescription with practice, and uses atypical examples. Thirdly, that he implicitly denies the immutability of the special needs of children, for food, clothing, shelter, affection and conversation. Fourthly, that he puts undue emphasis on the work of moralists and educationalists while saying little of economic and political factors"http://web.archive.org/web/20051222101311/http://www.ehs.org.uk/society/pdfs/Hendrick%2015a.pdf.
Works
- 1943. Les Traditions sociales dans les pays de France, Éditions de la Nouvelle France.
- 1948. Histoire des populations françaises et de leurs attitudes devant la vie depuis le XVIIIe, Self.
- 1949. Attitudes devant la vie et devant la mort du XVIIe au XIXe, quelques aspects de leurs variations, INED.
- 1953. Sur les origines de la contraception en France, from Population 3 (July-September): pp. 465-72.
- 1954. Le Temps de l'histoire, Éditions du Rocher.
- 1954. Deux contributions à l'histoire des pratiques contraceptives, from Population 4 (October-December): pp. 683-98.
- 1960. L'Enfant et la vie familiale sous l'Ancien Régime, Plon. Translated into English by Robert BaldickRobert BaldickRobert Baldick was a British scholar of French literature, writer, joint editor of the Penguin Classics series with Betty Radice and a well-known translator. He was a Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford....
as Centuries of Childhood. A Social History of Family Life. New York, 1962. - 1975. Essais sur l'histoire de la mort en Occident: du Moyen Âge à nos jours, Seuil.
- 1977. L'Homme devant la mort, Seuil.
- 1980. Un historien du dimanche (with Michel WinockMichel WinockMichel Winock is a French historian, specializing in the French Republic, intellectual movements, anti-Semitism, nationalism and the far right movements of France. He is a professeur des universités in contemporary history at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and member of L'Histoire...
), Seuil. - 1983. Images de l'homme devant la mort, Seuil.
- 1985-1986-1987. Histoire de la vie privée, (with Georges DubyGeorges DubyGeorges Duby was a French historian specializing in the social and economic history of the Middle Ages...
), 5 volumes: I. De l'Empire romain à l'an mil; II. De l'Europe féodale à la Renaissance; III. De la Renaissance aux Lumières; IV. De la Révolution à la Grande guerre; V. De la Première Guerre mondiale à nos jours, Seuil. - 1993. Essais de mémoire: 1943-1983, Seuil.
- 1997. Le présent quotidien, 1955-1966, Seuil. Collection of articles published in La Nation françaiseLa Nation françaiseLa Nation française was a French monarchist weekly influenced by Charles Maurras, the founder of the Action française movement...
between 1955 and 1966. - 2001. Histoire de la vie privée, (with Georges DubyGeorges DubyGeorges Duby was a French historian specializing in the social and economic history of the Middle Ages...
), le Grand livre du mois.
Secondary sources
- Hutton, Patrick H., Philippe Ariès and the politics of French cultural history, Univ. of Massachusetts Press 2004
- Evans, Richard J., In Defence of History, Granta Books 1997