One of the most important results of the French Revolution was
the destruction of the old feudal order, which for centuries had
kept the common people of the countryside subject to the lords. In
this book, John Markoff addresses the ways in which insurrectionary
peasants and revolutionary legislators joined in bringing "the time
of the lords" to an end and how, in that ending, seigneurial rights
came to be central to the very sense of the Revolution. He traces
the interaction of peasants and legislators, showing how they
confronted, challenged, and implicitly negotiated with one another
during the course of events.
Contrary to many historians who see the source of revolutionary
change in elite culture, Markoff argues that peasant insurrection
was a crucial element of the transformation of France. Of
particular importance to the study is Markoff's analysis of the
unique cahiers de doleances, the lists of grievances drawn up in
1789 by rural communities, urban notables, and nobles alike. These
documents are invaluable for understanding the Revolution, but
until the pioneering work of Markoff and Gilbert Shapiro, they had
not been studied systematically at the national level. In addition
to an unprecedented quantitative analysis of the cahiers, Markoff
traces the ebb and flow of peasant insurrection across half a
decade of revolutionary turbulence. He also offers qualitative
analysis through his use of the records of the legislative debates
as well as the memoirs and journals of the legislators.
The Abolition of Feudalism breaks new ground in charting
patterns of grievance and revolt in one of the most important
social and political upheavals in history.
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