Church and Society in Eighteenth-Century France. Volume 1: The Clerical Establishment and its Social Ramifications; Volume 2: The Religion of the People and the Politics of Religion (review)

Abstract

Church and Society in Eighteenth-Century France. Volume 1: Clerical Establishment and its Social Ramifications; Volume 2: Religion of People and Politics of Religion. By John McManners. [The Oxford History of Christian Church.] (New York: Oxford University Press. 1998. Pp. xviii, 817; xiv, 866. $155.00, $165.00 clothbound; $49.95, $45.00 paperback.) British are renowned travelers. An innate sense of curiosity seems to take them to every possible place on earth, to visit, to observe, and to report. These travel stories have taken many shapes from Dr. Burney's European musical journeys to A Year in Provence, but they share a common perspective: a keen attention to details, especially whimsical ones, and a slightly amused way of describing their experience. This view, I suspect, has also influenced British historians, who have with same flair visited past and come back with reports that are both comprehensive and entertaining. Since his 1960 dissertation, dedicated to city of Angers in eighteenth century, John McManners has proven himself to be master of this type of historical exploration. With his deep attachment to Ancien Regime tempered by a very British sense of humor, future Regius Professor of ecclesiastical history at Oxford gave us most readable work of social history. book under scrutiny, written after his retirement from teaching, represents magnum opus that many academics dream of, but few actually produce. Its well-filled 1700 pages present a complete survey of French church from Louis XIV's reign to eve of French Revolution. Divided into two volumes available separately, it presents successively clerical establishment (vol. 1) and religious life and politics (vol. 2). In exactly fifty chapters author offers a complete, up-to-date, and precise description of every aspect of life of French church: three chapters on bishops, three on parish priests, two on canons and chapters, four on male and female religious orders, preceded by five on Church and State, and followed by a last one on the Art of Obtaining a Benefice, constitute first volume. In second one, nine chapters cover religious practice, including The Dark Side of Supernatural (chap. 30), followed by four very engrossing studies of clerical interventions on moral issues: usury, sexuality, and entertainment. More political, second part of book describes Jansenist conflict that followed crisis of Unigenitus and relations of established church with religious minorities, Protestants and Jews. Entitled The Crisis of Ancien Regime, final three chapters analyze situation that represented prodromes to French Revolution: political role of Jansenists, of bishops, and of cures. Being a professional historian and a devoted admirer of John McManners, I must confess that long before being asked to review this book I had bought it. …