Nicolas Lyon-Caen offers a new socio-religious reading of the history of Jansenism in XVIIIe century. Studying from the Parisian case the links existing between Jansenism and the bourgeoisie, the historian administers a delightful lesson in method.
With the publication of his thesis, published here in a slightly revised form, Nicolas Lyon-Caen delivers a formidable lesson in erudition and method. A rich introduction formulates the issues of the subject. The author wants “ show that during the XVIIIe century, in the Parisian setting, many of those who claimed to be ‘bourgeois’ were also active supporters of Jansenism “. A first difficulty immediately arises. Does the notion of bourgeoisie have any meaning in the last century of the Ancien Régime? ? To this question, Nicolas Lyon-Caen answers in the affirmative. The analysis therefore concerns a fraction of the Parisian patriciate, particularly that which belongs to the Six Corps, this grouping of the main merchant corporations of the capital. The author seeks to “ understand religious deviance in the field of social practices », thus breaking with the theological-political approaches which have been favored by historiography in recent years. The method is defined in the first pages of the work. The author has created a database of which he does not, however, give the quantitative details, even claiming an approach “ qualitative and dynamic » opposed, perhaps a little easily, to a “ arbitrary prosopography “. This corpus brings together individuals classified as Jansenists, either because they opposed the bull Unigenitusfulminated by Pope Clement XI in 1713 and became law of the kingdom in 1730, or because they showed their devotion to the deacon François de Pâris. From this aggregate, which is based on an impressive analysis of various sources, the author can deploy a multiform analysis, this socio-religious history which makes all the originality of the book.
The Jansenist community in XVIIIe century
The first chapter delves into the roots of the Grand Siècle. From the reign of Louis XIV during the Enlightenment, the sociological renewal of Jansenism was “ complete “. The memory of the glorious hours of Port-Royal nevertheless remains very present. It goes through various means, works, images and stories. The memories that we evoke within the family sphere take on meaning in a new context, that of the second quarter of the XVIIIe century. The author takes advantage of this initial chapter to present the beginnings of the “ Perrette box », nickname given to the clandestine financial organization of the Jansenist movement, and to return to the diffusion of figurism, a mode of interpretation of the Scriptures developed in the works of Abbé Duguet.
In the second part of his study, Nicolas Lyon-Caen sets out in search of a “ believing community » Jansenist, which took shape from the second half of the 1710s. Many ecclesiastics called for a council to judge the admissibility of theUnigenitus. The proportion of callers reaches 75 % of Parisian clergy. The support of lay people for this movement therefore remains more difficult to establish. However, it is evident from the end of the 1720s, that is to say after the death of François de Paris. We have precise information on the identity of the miraculous and the witnesses who confirm the healing and therefore the intercession of the deacon, whose canonization is expected. The author offers a detailed study, noting that the “ notable are (…) very present “. It analyzes the deep and lasting links that are created between miracle victims and witnesses, drawing a true community. These links are strengthened in particular during pilgrimages to Saint-Médard or Port-Royal or through shared books. Alongside the obituaries, Ecclesiastical News play an essential role. This weekly publication, founded in 1728 and printed in Paris, benefits from funds from the Boîte à Perrette, which also supports small clandestine schools. Even if it is crossed by religious or intellectual divisions, the Jansenist community unites “ energies from the bottom to the top of the social ladder “.
The following chapter aims to examine the relationships between religious affiliation and family practices. The author focuses in particular on the ambiguous role of women. He gives a major place to marriages, diagnosing a remarkably analyzed socio-religious endogamy. The study, nourished by numerous examples taken from the central minute-book of the National Archives, is concluded in a very nuanced manner: the believing community, structured around the defense of the appellants, “ covers in many respects, but without ever explicitly stating it, a pre-existing social base » composed of powerful families, established in the capital for a long time.
Which believers ?
Chapter 4, entitled “ Under the sign of Jansen, merchandise and devotion », shows, through a few well-chosen examples (notably that of the Quatremère family), how trade and Jansenism go hand in hand in the Paris of the XVIIIe century. Is it possible to live surrounded only by businessmen? friends of truth » ? The author uses the excellent formula of “ community niches » to qualify the practices that take place in different sectors (among tailors, within the medical professions, in the world of architects and booksellers). Nicolas Lyon-Caen ends up asking the question of “ Jansenist ethics », here using Weberian vocabulary. It perfectly shows how rigorous discourses and social practices remain juxtaposed and contradictory. Jansenism cannot turn into business ethics.
Chapter 5 seeks to define with more precision the “ actual content of the belief » Jansenist. In the Age of Enlightenment, we are far from “ Terrible God of Port-Royal “. The time is rather for “ theology of trust », whose most famous theoretician is Abbot Jean-Baptiste Raymond Pavie de Fourquevaux. The entire family home is deemed to belong to the community of the elected. This conviction goes hand in hand with a decline in ecclesiastical influence. We distrust priests, especially “ bullists “, those who support theUnigenitus. Believers therefore gain a form of independence. Thus, some hold consecrated hosts and give communion themselves. If sobriety remains essential, it no longer requires retirement. “ Adopting a monastic life in the world ”, this is the ideal. At the heart of belief, wonder and miracles occupy a significant place. The God of the Jansenists is therefore not so distant. The conclusion of the section is again very nuanced. Jansenist culture, which certainly resembles a “ popular religion » as it is defined in the work of Alphonse Dupront, ultimately favors the autonomy of the laity, due to the necessary erosion of the clergy opposed to theUnigenitus throughout the century.
Secular autonomy and social conservatism
As the next chapter shows, works of charity constitute “ a trademark of the Parisian Jansenists “. Nicolas Lyon-Caen details the institutions and practices of charity, giving a large number of examples, before offering a theological reading. In the light of the port-royalist tradition which “ hypertrophy grace », the justification of the works is difficult. Charity demonstrates belonging to the world of the elected and reflects the independence of the laity who act outside of any clerical hierarchy. As the author strongly suggests, bourgeois Jansenism has a profoundly conservative dimension, placing the poor in a demeaning position. Fouquier-Tinville declared thus, during the trial of Marc-Étienne Quatremère, finally executed in 1794: “ in his charity for the poor, he (Quatremère) only had his God in mind and not the sans-culottes, (deserving) death for having humiliated the people by his benefits “.
Chapter 7 returns to the “ refusal of sacraments “. In Paris, these affairs really began in 1749. The archbishop of the capital, Mgr Christophe de Beaumont, refuses the last sacraments to those who have not signed a confession note recognizing the bull Unigenitus. Parliament intervened on April 18, 1752, by prohibiting “ to make no public refusal of the sacraments, under the pretext of failure to present a confession note, or to declare the name of the confessor, or to accept the bull Unigenitus “. A royal declaration (September 2, 1754) ratified this decision. Nicolas Lyon-Caen offers a stimulating reading of the legal procedures he was able to examine. He thus asserts that “ the real victims of refusal of the sacraments ” are “ less the faithful to whom they are refused than the priests who are led to deny them “. These affairs indeed constitute a way for the Parisian bourgeoisie to “ regulate » the clergy and to sideline the “ bad elements “. This is proof of the autonomy of lay Jansenists, an independence that should not be read as a guarantee of modernity but rather as the mark of social conservatism.
The religious, the social and the political
The full fruitfulness of the approach appears in the final chapter, where the author finds the major themes of the political history of the Age of Enlightenment. Nicolas Lyon-Caen examines a series of texts aimed at defending the “ refused “. It is a question of showing that the sacrament is a gesture “ civic “, “ so that its refusal in the presence of other people constitutes a reason for scandal “. This must necessarily be decided by secular judges. The author relies here on a rather little-known legal production, that of lawyers or notaries, these legal intermediaries, several of whom are presented in detail. In doing so, the notions of public and publicity are questioned. As the final pages of this final chapter explain, “ the ruin of bourgeois Jansenism » begins with the questioning of intermediary bodies, initiated by the reforms of Chancellor Maupeou at the beginning of the 1770s. We are heading towards the end of corporatism, “ the ‘structuring structure’ of the Parisian bourgeois elites ”, form of “ inclusion of individuals » now obsolete.
The conclusion highlights the book’s contributions very well. Nicolas Lyon-Caen underlines a “ quite unexpected phenomenon, the internalization of the ‘religious factor’ by the social body which has made it one of its own dimensions “. The author rejects the schema of leaving religion and “ disenchantment of the world » proposed by Marcel Gauchet, preferring to affirm that still in 1789, “ the religious is shaped by the social as much as it informs it “.
The work, equipped with an index of personal names, is supported by an abundant bibliography, only partly cited at the end of the volume. The references are of all kinds, from modern and contemporary history to sociology. Thus, the book opens and closes with the work of Émile Durkheim, or cites the work of Brian Turner on the process of “ McDonaldization » of the company. The sources used are of considerable magnitude. We simply regret that they were not presented systematically. In any case, the reader will benefit from referring to the annexes available on the Port-Royal Library website. With an alert and elegant pen, which plays with extreme dexterity on concepts and archives, The Perrette Box is a major work, a valuable source of reflection for religious, social and political historians.