РОШФОР, «ЗАЛІЗНИЙ БАРОН»: ЗВИТЯГА, КРОВ, ЧАВУН І КЛІМАТ. ДО ПИТАННЯ ІДЕНТИФІКАЦІЇ ДВОРЯНСЬКИХ СІМЕЙ ФРАНЦІЇ

Abstract

The article about the family of Rofshore and René de Rochefort, in particular, is an attempt to research and analyze the history of France in the period from the end of the 15th to the early 17th century, through the prism of the life and activities of one of the brightest representatives of the nobility during the reign of the Valois dynasty and the Wars of Religion in France between Catholic majority and Protestant minority. This article is the first attempt in Ukrainian historiography to research and describe the biography of René de Rochefort, paying attention to the key events that unfolded in France – one of the leading states of Europe at that time, and figures who were contemporaries of René de Rochefort. Emphasis is placed on the contribution of the Rochefort family to the formation of cultural, economic and political processes in the country, as well as on their relationships with other influential families and political structures. A large part of the article is devoted to the search for interrelationships between climatic changes in Europe at that time and socio-political processes in France. This is what determines the relevance and purpose of researching the problem. One of the evidences of this era are fireplace stoves – firebacks, which were intended for heating homes and were widely used in France and Europe, in particular by people of noble origin. They were cast from cast iron, a material that was a kind of symbol of this era and was widely used in everyday life and military affairs. Most of the firebacks of this era were able to reach our time and are an invaluable source for the study of history, in particular, a fireback with the image of the coat of arms of René de Rochefort – one of the most prominent political figures of France in the 16th century. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, objectivism and systematicity, as well as periodization methods, historical-systemic and historical-comparative approaches are used, the research reveals new facets in understanding the interaction of climate and history. The biographical description of the life and activities of the Rochefort family sheds light on many blind spots in the history of France and helps to understand the social and political processes of that time.