The History of Noises and Sounds in France
Publisher
:
Presses Universitaires de France
Parution date
:
2000
EAN
:
9782130508649
Description
Throughout medieval and modern France, people lived in an environment that was often noisy. Forms of oral communication played quite a different role than written communication. Bells announced town events, leaders made their decisions known through criers—hullabaloo, rumors and public accusations were the vectors of a dubious system of popular justice. When the Church and the monarchy attempted to "police" their followers and subjects, they did so through noise control. The sonorous landscape was as much a result of spiritual considerations as it was social and material. The1750s began a move toward tranquility and noise reduction, as well as the development of the study of sound, but it was the following century that brought the biggest changes: the Industrial Revolution, the increase of means of information, the first recording instruments. In this enlightening work, Jean-Pierre Gutton awakens our ears to the sounds of the past.
Author
Jean-Pierre Gutton : Jean-Pierre Gutton teaches modern history at the University of Lyons-2 and is a member of l’Institut universitaire de France. He is the author of many scholarly works, of which the following were honored by l’Académie française: La société et les pauvres (1971), La sociabilité villageoise dans l’ancienne France (1979), Domestiques et serviteurs dans la France de l’Ancien Régime (1981).
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