The Clergy of Early Seventeenth-Century France: Self-Perception and Society's Perception

Abstract

The Catholic Reformation in France has been the subj ect of many studies during the past twenty years.' It is becoming increasingly apparent that agreement is lacking on when this Reformation began and what the state of the French church actually was during that time.2 Because almost everyone in early modern France lived in rural areas, these questions cannot be answered without a thorough understanding of the rural clergy and their parishioners. Recently the publication of a repertoire of pastoral visits has opened up the possibility of studying the parish clergy of France.3 To date, a few books have been published