Auswahl der wissenschaftlichen Literatur zum Thema „Alençon (France)“

Le Miroir de l'âme pécheresse, a volume of devotional verse named for its principal poem, was published in Alençon in 1531 and in Paris two years later. The Paris edition identifies its author as “Marguerite de France, Soeur Vnicque du Roy,” and later as “Royne de Navarre.” Some eleven years later, the daughter of Henry VIII translated the Miroir as a gift for her latest stepmother, Queen Katherine Parr. The poem has thus a doubly unusual status. In an age when literature was overwhelmingly male in its origins, the agencies of genesis and transmission for this work were female. And in an age when most writers came from the middle class, the agents of its production and reproduction were of high birth, members of royal families.

Une fois la guerre déclarée et l’état de siège établi dans tous les départements, Allemands et Austro-Hongrois se trouvant en France deviennent ipso facto des ressortissants «indésirables» à surveiller comme possibles espions ou comme soldats au cas où ils pourraient rejoindre leur pays. Dans ces conditions, il semble impossible de garder une simple résidence surveillée. Privés de liberté, ces civils doivent être regroupés. De là l’ouverture de camps d’internement ou camps de concentration, selon l’expression de la circulaire du ministère de l’Intérieur du 15 septembre 1914. Ces camps sont parti culièrement nombreux dans l’Ouest, notamment en Bretagne. En Normandie sont ouverts un camp de triage à La Ferté-Macé et cinq camps de concentration : trois dans le Cotentin (dont celui du fort de Tatihou, au large de Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue), un dans les plaines bas-normandes (Alençon), le dernier dans le bocage à Vire.

Lyric poetry as a tool to unify language and politics points of view. We propose to examine how lyric poetry was used as a politic tool by French kings of the Renaissance period (1515–1589). In France, the building of a specific identity starts with François I Ordonnance de Villers-Cotterêts (1539): all official documents previously in Latin, had now to be in French. The second act was Defence et Illustration de la langue française published by Joachim du Bellay in 1549 ruling on the use of vernacular language in lyrical poetry. Both events gave impetus to the unification of the language, not only in official documents but also in everyday life. As each province had its own idioms, the proposal was ambitious. We focus on Ronsard, the most representative poet of the catholic party during the civil wars of religion, which begin in 1562. In 1566 Ronsard begins his politic career with Les Hymnes, a long poem that celebrates on the catholic dynasty of the Valois family. Agrippa d’Aubigné, as a protestant poet, appreciate the poem enough to recommend it to everybody – lyric poetry rising above religious opinion. After the death of Henri II, Ronsard became a sort of diarist of Catherine de Medici’s politics, as expressed in his Discours des misères de ce temps 1562 and Continuation du discours des misères de ce temps. These texts, which justify the catholic positions of the queen, were published in 10-page booklets to be accessible to the population. The protestants poet including Chandieu, gave a violent answer to these one sided catholic texts. For all the Calvinist, mass is a disgusting ‘théophagie’. During her regency, Catherine de Medici organised a two-year (1562– 1564) visit around the kingdom with her son, Charles IX, in order for people to meet their king. This would be today a sort of ‘enterprise of communication’. It was never done before. Ronsard was required, as a spokesman, to follow the huge royal caravan, contributing to the development of words and new forms of lyric poetry. He wrote various entertainments according to the occasion or place of performance, later collected in Elegies, Mascarades et Bergeries, published by Buon in 1566. After the court returned to Fontainebleau and Paris, Ronsard continued La Franciade, a text he began in 1549. He was also required to manage the reception of Polish ambassadors who came to Tuileries and Fontainebleau to fetch the duke of Alençon (the future king Henri III of France) as new elected polish king. The official artist Antoine Caron has left paintings and drawings of these entertainments. Ronsard’s politic works in connection with the poets of the period change not only the language but also the way of thinking as it was the first step to centralism, which was the aims of the French kings. The same phenomenon took place in the nineteenth century, after the French Revolution in 1789, when poets were needed to bring the people together during a period of inspiration that drew them away from violence. They built a new image of the Renaissance, mixing history and imagination. In 1851, Les Châtiments, in which the poem titled “Le manteau Imperial” (1853) is one of the most ferocious, Victor Hugo protested against “le coup d’état” of Napoléon III. This text denied that Napoleon III was the fair successor of Napoleon I. To place France in context in the history of humanity, Hugo published La Légende des siècles (1859), a long text in alexandrine form which recalled the theme of Franciade: both texts aim to enshrine the history of the French kingdom. In Estonia, when Estonians needed to assert the history of their origins, the same phenomenon took place in 1857 with Kreutzwald’s Kalevipoeg. Lyric poetry is used in tension periods to claim a strong, original and uniform voice in the face of difficulties. In France, in the sixteenth century, lyric poetry was at the origin of a new way of life.

Em mais uma edição da Gazeta Médica, gostaria de começar este editorial por realçar a qualidade dos artigos que nesta e nas anteriores edições temos testemunhado, seja em artigos de revisão, de investigação ou apresentação de casos clínicos.Desafio todos a pensarem na Gazeta Médica para as vossas publicações. Só assim poderemos desenvolvê-la e aumentar a sua relevância no panorama das revistas médicas generalistas em Portugal.Hoje gostaria de vos falar sobre um tema que me é muito caro: o Internato Médico. Especificamente o Internato Médico nos nossos hospitais CUF. O Internato Médico enfrenta vários desafios atualmente em Portugal: Candidatos ao Internato Médico em número claramente superior ao das capacidades formativas que o país tem anualmente (em 2017 cerca de 2400 candidatos para 1750 vagas disponíveis), situação que só se vai agravar no futuro próximo; Falta de formadores (orientadores de formação), devido ao crescente número de médicos a sair das instituições públicas em algumas especialidades e ao número de médicos especialistas na faixa etária dos 40 anos (os formadores por excelência) ser baixo resultante da redução franca do numerus clausus das Faculdades de Medicina na década de 1990; Questões relacionadas com “burnout” e qualidade de vida, de que não se falava até há alguns anos, mas que agora estão na ordem do dia e são essenciais na equação da qualidade do internato que queremos dar aos nossos internos; cada vez mais o fator qualidade de vida é tido em consideração pelos jovens médicos ao escolherem a especialidade; os responsáveis a vários níveis (Ordem dos Médicos, Sociedades Científicas e os hospitais, públicos ou privados) devem ter isso em consideração se pretendem manter a respetiva especialidade ou instituição “popular” e atrair os melhores internos; Aplicação das novas regras do Serviço de Urgência para os médicos internos (circular informativa 9/2017 da ACSS). Em suma, temas essenciais para a qualidade da formação médica pós-graduada, que é reconhecida como excelente no nosso país, mas que corre riscos sérios de se deteriorar. Estes problemas não têm solução fácil.Não vamos conseguir aumentar significativamente as capacidades formativas para internato em Portugal, pelo menos sem pôr em causa a qualidade da formação; nem vamos conseguir aumentar os formadores ou a sua motivação a curto prazo.Voltando à nossa realidade CUF, e tendo em consideração todo este panorama, os grupos privados de saúde que apostaram no Internato Médico passaram também a ter responsabilidade na resposta a estes desafios. Que são, também, uma oportunidade única para se afirmarem como formadores de qualidade na área da formação médica pós-graduada e combater alguns preconceitos ainda existentes sobre este assunto, tanto entre os médicos como entre os decisores políticos.Sei que esta é uma oportunidade que não podemos perder. E sei que a Academia CUF, responsável no nosso grupo por toda a formação, tem a mesma visão. O internato é uma força inesgotável de melhoria assistencial e científica.Que pode mudar para muito melhor o paradigma de funcionamento clínico das instituições de saúde.Temos, sim, de oferecer qualidade formativa e oportunidades de desenvolvimento profissional de excelência, para atrair os melhores. E temos profissionais, casuística e estrutura para isso. Não tenho quaisquer dúvidas!É o que já estamos a fazer nos Hospitais CUF Descobertas em Imuno-Alergologia, Ortopedia, Otorrinolaringologia e Pediatria e no Hospital CUF Infante Santo em Otorrinolaringologia, especialidades em que já temos idoneidade formativa.Numa reflexão sobre os primeiros 5 anos de Internato Médico nos Hospitais CUF realizada este ano, os nossos internos apresentaram os fatores positivos e negativos do seu internato connosco.Entre vários pontos referidos, o que mais me marcou foi terem sido unânimes em declarar que voltariam a escolher os hospitais CUF para fazer o internato se o tivessem de fazer agora com o que já sabem.Isto dá-nos alento e entusiasmo para trabalhar mais. E levar a nossa visão muito mais longe. Queremos “dar cartas” em muitas outras áreas relativamente à formação médica pós-graduada no universo CUF, e estamos a trabalhar nesse sentido. Para isso precisamos do envolvimento de todos para nos ajudarem neste ambicioso projeto. E podem, claro, contar com a Academia CUF e comigo para desenvolver os vossos projetos de Internato Médico nos hospitais CUF. Vamos a isto! João Paulo FariasDiretor do Internato Médico CUF

Il s'agit d'un travail d'histoire urbaine, portant sur une ville moyenne : alencon (chef-lieu de orne). La demarche s'appuye notamment sur des "registres de population" qui rendent compte du "mouvement" des habitants. Entre 1820 et 1914, la population a peu augmente, malgre de forts courants migratoires. Et l'urbanisation du territoire communal a nettement progresse. En outre, alencon a connu a la fois la prosperite industrielle et la desindustrialisation. Deux produits herites des temps "proto-industriels", la toile de chanvre et la dentelle a l'aiguille, ont donne lieu, dans le cadre d'une fabrication partiellement modernisee, a un bel exemple de developpement industriel "dual". Les "agents" industriels locaux se sont laisses enfermer dans des impasses qui expliquent l'echec final, apres 1880 : ce travail est une contribution au debat sur la desindustrialisation de la basse-normandie au xixe siecle. Une des principales raisons de l'echec de la transition industrielle a alencon a ete la structure sociale : les deux manufactures dispersees etaient concues comme socialement necessaires. En meme temps que l'artisanat, et que la fonction commerciale de la ville (qui finalement les a relayees au moment de la desindustrialisation), elles ont contribue a l'instauration d'un certain "bonheur social" : reduction des ecarts sociaux et recul de la precarite, augmentation des effectifs des classes moyennes, proportion croissante de "rentiers" chez les personnes agees, mobilite sociale ascendante, le tout fonde sur une culture de la reussite par l'entreprise. Les annees 1880-1900, avec la "tertiarisation" de la societe et l'arrivee des nouvelles classes moyennes (salariees), dont l'objectif n'etait pas de s'enraciner dans la ville, ont vu le dechirement d'un tissu social dont la solidite a dure autant que l'industrie de la toile de chanvre
This piece of work treats of urban history. The selected town is alen9on (orne's chief-town) : a mean town. This study makes use of census registers including shifts of population. Beetween 1820 and 1914, there was a slow population increase, despite of important migrations. A real development of the urbanization of the area under municipal jurisdiction happened. Moreover, alencon went through industrial prosperity and after that de-industrialisation. The making of two products coming from "proto-industrial" times (hemp cloth and point-lace) was partially modernized : an example of "dual" industrial development. After 1880, these industries suffered a setback on textile market. The "domestic system" and the manufacture of traditional products were regarded as essentials of social life and order. Together with small trade and "arts and crafts", they landed to a guise of "social happiness" : closed social gap, more and more population in middle classes, more "proprietors-rentiers" among old people, rising social mobility. The common way to succeed on life was business and enterprise. In the 1900's, the salaried middle classes were more and more numerous. But office workers and commercial employees were aliens from the town and did not stay a long time. The social web was torn

Cette thèse de doctorat est consacrée à l’étude des juridictions consulaires au XVIIIe siècle. Ancêtre des tribunaux de commerce, ces institutions ont été créées par le pouvoir royal en 1563 pour juger les litiges entre les marchands. Au XVIIIe siècle, la justice consulaire est implantée dans toutes les grandes villes du royaume de France ainsi que dans un nombre important de villes secondaires. Elles sont dirigées par les juges consuls, des marchands qui sont élus par les représentants du commerce de la ville pour juger les affaires du commerce. Outre ces fonctions, centrales dans la relation du négoce avec le monde de la justice, les juges consuls ont endossés des rôles de représentation du commerce vis-à-vis des pouvoirs locaux et du pouvoir royal. Ils ont peu à peu acquis des privilèges basés sur leur dignité de juges royaux, et ont mis en place un cursus honorum au sein des institutions publiques. Les juges consuls sont aussi capables d’user de leur influence et de diffuser leurs valeurs, basés sur une conception positive de leur fonction. Ils développent un discours qui les légitime vis-à-vis de pouvoirs concurrents et qui permet à leur institution de se maintenir au travers des siècles. Dans les villes moyennes de Caen, Alençon, Morlaix et Vannes, la juridiction consulaire est au cœur de la légitimité et des stratégies sociales des élites marchandes. Les juges consuls sont sélectionnés sur la base de leurs activités marchandes, de leur aisance financière et surtout de leurs liens de parentèle avec des familles déjà implantées dans la juridiction consulaire. Ces familles forment un groupe relativement ouvert quoique solidaire, qui partage les mêmes valeurs et qui cherche à conserver sa domination sur le commerce d’une ville. L’institution consulaire permet dans ce système de distinguer l’élite du négoce du commun de la marchandise et de légitimer la domination de quelques-uns par la mise en place d’un discours et d’un cursus honorum. Fort d’un discours qui la présente comme une institution éclairée avant la lettre et du soutien des élites marchandes, la juridiction consulaire survit et se renforce à la révolution Française
This thesis is devoted to the study of consular jurisdictions in the eighteenth century. A predecessor to the commercial courts, these institutions were created by the royal authority in 1563 to judge trade disputes between merchants. In the eighteenth century, the consular courts were located in all of the major cities within the kingdom of France, as well as a large number of less important cities in terms of population. These courts were run by Consul Judges, merchants elected by city trade representatives to judge trade cases in name of the king. Beyond these functions, paramount to the negotiation of a city’s commerce in relation to justice, the Consul Judges endorsed the roles of trade representation with respect to local and royal powers. They gradually acquired privileges based upon their dignity as royal judges and developed a honorum curriculum in public institutions such as municipalities or public hospitals. Consul Judges were able to use their influence to disseminate personal values relying on the very positive perception of their function. They held a discourse that legitimized their power and allowed them to keep this institution alive throughout a number of centuries. In medium-sized cities of Caen, Alençon, Morlaix and Vannes, which are all located in Western France, consular jurisdictions were at the heart of the legitimacy and social strategies of elite merchants. Consul Judges were selected on the basis of their commercial activities, their financial range and their kinship ties with families already well-established in the consular jurisdiction. These families were relatively open to new members if they shared the same values. They sought to maintain their dominance of the city’s trade. The consular institution allowed this system to distinguish the elite trading of the common merchants. The institution legitimized the domination of some merchants through a positive discourse and a cursus honorum. With the address of an enlightened institution and the support of commercial elites, consular jurisdictions not only survived , but were even strengthened during the French Revolution and managed to remain throughout the contemporary period even to the present day

L'actuel département de l'Orne présentait autrefois un territoire plus industrialisé que de nos jours. La force hydraulique y actionnait les «usines», c'est-à-dire des moulins aux fonctions très diverses. Vers 1800, on dénombrait notamment 587 moulins à grain (88 % du nombre total), 46 «tournants» sur 16 sites sidérurgiques, 12 moulins à foulon, 12 moulins à papier et 11 moulins à tan. Chacun s'intégrait dans une chaîne technologique partant du produit brut (céréales, chiffons et tissus, écorce de chêne, laine, minerai) au produit fini (farine, papier, tan, étoffes de laine, fonte et fer). Toute une gamme de personnes, aux fonctions et aux statuts très différents travaillaient en réseaux, de la production à la distribution. Les plus nombreux étaient ceux des sites meuniers à farine. L'étude présentée ici concerne les moulins hydrauliques à grains de la région alençonnaise entre le XVIIe siècle et le XXe siècle, soit une quarantaine d'établissements, tout au plus. Cette articulation sur un temps long permet de comprendre quelle est la dynamique de ce secteur sur ce petit territoire traversé par la Sarthe et composé de 26 communes et qui a connu au plus 40 000 personnes résidentes. Quelle est la particularité de cette meunerie? Quel est le nombre de moulins aux époques concernées ? À quel moment a-telle basculé dans la minoterie c'est-à-dire quand est-elle passée du stade artisanal au stade industriel? Quels sont ses rapports avec l'énergie, les capacités de mouture? Comment les hommes se sont-ils définis dans ce secteur de production? Quelle est sa place dans la meunerie ornaise?La réflexion s'articule autour d'un triple questionnement : technique, économique et social. Le premier point est consacré à la présentation exhaustive de quelques moulins représentatifs de l'Alençonnais. Le second développe la notion du réseau économique dans lequel ont évolué les moulins, entre agriculture et boulangerie. Le dernier présente les meuniers, leur univers et la vie difficile qu'ils ont pu mener. Une recherche inédite sur une histoire peu investie
The present-day Orne County was formerly more industrialized than today. The mills were operated by hydraulic power, and they had various functions. Around 1800, there were 587 grain mills (88% of the total amount of mills), 46 "turning mills"on16 steel plants, 12 treading mills, 12 paper mills, and tanning mills. Each of them was part of a technological chain starting from the gross product (cereals, cloths and fabrics, oak bark, wool, ore) to the finished product (flour, paper, tan, wool fabrics, cast-iron, and iron). A range of people, having different functions and statuses, worked in the production networks as well as in the distribution networks. The most numerous were those of the milling sites producing flour. The study presented here concerns the hydraulic grain mills in the Alençon region between the seventeenth century and the twentieth century. This articulation over a long period of time enables to understand the dynamics of this industry in this small territory crossed by the Sarthe river and composed of 26 towns, with a maximum of 40,000 residents. What is the peculiarity of this mill industry? What is the number of mills during the above-mentioned periods? When have the mills risen from small-scale stage to industrial stage? What are its links with energy and grinding capacities? How were men defined in this sector of production? What is its place in the Orne milling industry? The study consists in a triple questioning: technical, economic and social questioning. The first one is devoted to an exhaustive presentation of some representative mills in the Alençon area. The second one develops the idea of an economic network in which the mills have evolved, between agriculture and bakery. The latter presents the millers, their world and the difficult life they could lead. This is an unpublished research about a not well-researched history topic

Cette enquête porte sur les élites nobiliaires de quatre capitales provinciales - Abbeville, Alençon, Canterbury et Chester - et leurs rapports au fait urbain. Le poids de la noblesse et de la gentry y augmenta régulièrement au cours des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. Cette croissance se nourrit des élites bourgeoises portées par la dynamique de l'ascension sociale. En France elles s'intégrèrent complètement au second ordre alors qu'en Angleterre, la classe dominante se fragmenta : à la landed gentry se juxtaposèrent la pseudo-gentry et la gentry civique, formée de marchands et d’artisans que le passage par les corporations avait autorisé à prendre la qualité de gentleman. D'autre part, les sources municipales ont révélé l'ampleur des mutations de la vie urbaine au XVIIIe siècle. Dans les quatre villes, s'ouvrirent de nouveaux lieux de sociabilité destinés aux élites nobiliaires. L'éthique consumériste qui caractérisait la gentry anglaise était partagée par la noblesse française et cela modifia la structure socio-professionnelle des villes. L'urbanisme fut amélioré par les équipements de loisirs et la construction de bâtiments publics. Mais ce n'est pas tant l'existence de courants de mobilité sociale, ni les structures de la sociabilité, ni même l'évolution des formes de vie urbaine qui opposaient les villes françaises et anglaises que l'esprit avec lequel leurs élites nobiliaires les utilisèrent dans leur rapport à l'urbanité
This thesis is about the elites of four country towns: Abbeville, Alençon, Canterbury and Chester. In these towns, the nobility and the gentry grew continually in the course of the seventeenth - and eigtheenth-centuries. This trend was simulated by the upwards social mobility of urban families. The French newcomers entered without difficulty into the ranks of the second order. In England appeared the gentry civic which is composed of merchants or craftsmen with responsibilities in the municipal corporation. The urban landscape and the social life in the French and English country towns were equally transfigured during the eighteenth-century. But the elites used differently these transformations

Le procès de René d'Alençon (1481-1483) est celui d'un prince du Sang et seigneur apanagiste. Il était le fils du duc Jean d'Alençon par deux fois condamné à mort pour trahison et dont la condamnation fut à chaque fois commuée en emprisonnement. La succession de son père au duché d'Alençon fut l'objet principal des démêlés entre René et Louis XI. Ce dernier le fit arrêter avant qu'il ne s'enfuie en Bretagne et le fit emprisonner à Chinon où il fut interrogé par une commission royale. Il fut ensuite transféré à Vincennes pour être jugé par le Parlement de Paris. Ce dernier ne le trouva pas coupable de crime de lèse-majesté et le condamna à une peine mineure au grand mécontentement du Roi. Dernier épisode de la lutte de Louis XI contre les grands féodaux, ce procès est un témoignage sur la fin du règne et sur les relations difficiles du Roi avec le Parlement. Le compte-rendu du procès fait l'objet d'une transcription qui constitue le volume II de la présente thèse
The trial of René d'Alençon (1481-1483) is the trial of a prince of the Blood and apanagist. He was the son of Jean, duke of Alençon, twice condemned to death and twice his condemnation was changed to imprisonment. The succession of his father to the duchy of Alençon was the main matter of the dispute between René and Louis XI. This latter ordered René to be arrested before he escaped to Brittany and made him imprisoned at Chinon where he was questioned by a royal commission. Then he was transfered to Vincennes for his trial by the Parliament of Paris. This one did not find him guilty of crime of lese-majesty. So he was condemned at a minor punishment at the great displeasure of the king. Last episode of the struggle of Louis XI against his high vassals, this trial is the testimony about the last years of his reign and of the difficult relationship between the king and the Parliament. The transcription of the trial's report is the matter of volume II of this thesis

Cette thèse sur la décentralisation théâtrale en Basse-Normandie se propose d’embrasser la période qui va des années 1940 à nos jours, c’est-à-dire du lancement d’une politique nationale de décentralisation dramatique impulsée par JeanneLaurent à la montée en puissance des collectivités territoriales dans le champ des compétences culturelles. A partir de la fin de la seconde guerre mondiale et de la reconstruction de Caen, nous verrons comment les lieux de spectacles se sontdéveloppés dans la région, notamment à travers la figure emblématique de la décentralisation théâtrale en Basse-Normandie : Jo Tréhard. Comédien autodidacte, metteur en scène, directeur de compagnie et de théâtre, fondateur de multiples lieux de spectacle (Le Tonneau, le Théâtre – Maison de la Culture, puis la Comédie de Caen) et d’un festival de Normandie. Nous étudierons ensuite la construction du réseau des scènes et lieux de spectacle vivant bas-normands, notamment ceux qui ont une reconnaissance institutionnelle : labellisées ou conventionnées par le Ministère de laCulture (Le Théâtre du Préau à Vire, La SN61 à Alençon, Le Trident à Cherbourg, L’Archipel à Granville et le Théâtre Municipal de Coutances). Enfin, nous verrons comment les collectivités locales complètent et soutiennent ce réseau, ainsi que les évolutions liées aux dernières réformes territoriales
This thesis on the dramatical decentralization in Lower Normandy proposes to embrace the period that goes from the 1940s to today, from the launching of a national policy of dramatical decentralization impelled by Jeanne Laurent to the risepower of local authorities in the field of cultural competences. From the end of the second world war and the reconstruction of Caen, we will see how the venues have developed in the region, particularly through the emblematic figure of dramaticaldecentralization in Lower Normandy: Jo Tréhard. Self-taught comedian, director of company and theater, founder of multiple theaters (The “Tonneau”, the “Theatre – Maison de la Culture”, and the Comedy of Caen) and the Normandy Festival. We willthen study the construction of the network of scenes in Lower Normandy, including those with institutional recognition: labeled or approved by the Ministry of Culture (The Theater of Préau to Vire, The SN61 in Alençon, The Trident in Cherbourg, L'Archipel inGranville and the Coutances Theater). Finally, we will see how local authorities complement and support this network, as well as developments related to the latest territorial reforms

Constitué par saint Louis en faveur de son fils Pierre, mort en 1284, l’apanage d’Alençon renaît en 1290 lorsque le roi Philippe le Bel l’octroie à son frère Charles de Valois. Sept comtes, puis ducs à partir de 1415, lui succéderont jusqu’en 1525. Cousins des rois et pairs de France, les Valois-Alençon ont fait de cet apanage normanno-percheron le cœur d’une principauté étendue du pays de Caux aux rivages de la Loire, des marches de Bretagne au pays chartrain.Les principats de Pierre II (1367-1404) et de son fils Jean Ier, mort à Azincourt en 1415, marquent l’apogée de cette œuvre politique soutenue par le roi. Désormais enracinés sur l’apanage, les Alençon réforment l’administration des territoires, s’entourent d’officiers polyvalents et dotent leur principauté des institutions traditionnellement dévolues au gouvernement des états : une chancellerie active, une trésorerie générale, une Chambre des comptes et même un Échiquier réputé souverain. Au palais neuf d’Argentan, l’Hôtel comtal accueille quelque deux cent trente officiers et serviteurs et brille d’un éclat jusqu’alors insoupçonné. La démarche prosopographique, qui étudie les caractéristiques sociologiques et les réseaux d’influence façonnant les carrières des agents du pouvoir, guide ici la découverte des administrations princières.Hommes liges du parti d’Orléans, les Alençon paient toutefois au prix fort leur engagement politique. L’occupation lancastrienne (1417-1450) et l’exil, les rançons et l’obstruction durable du duc Jean II à la politique du roi minent leur autorité. La faillite menace et contraint les princes aux pires expédients. Leur incurie aggrave l’isolement qui les frappe jusqu’à ce qu’en 1515 l’avènement au trône de France de François d’Angoulême, « frère » par alliance du dernier duc Charles IV, offre à cette principauté un ultime et éphémère rayonnement
Formed by Saint Louis in favour of his son Pierre, who died in 1284, the Alençon appanage revived in 1290 when King Philippe le Bel bestowed it upon his brother Charles de Valois. Seven princes, who became dukes as of 1415, succeeded him till 1525. Cousins to Kings and Peers of France, the Valois-Alençons turned the Norman-Percheron appanage into the heart of a principality stretching from the Pays de Caux to the banks of the Loire river, from the « Marches de Bretagne » to the Chartres area.The principates of Pierre II (1367-1404) and his son Jean I, who died in Azincourt in 1415, marked the heyday of this political piece of work supported by the King. Henceforth, rooted in this appannage, the Alençons reformed the administration of territories, surrounded themselves with versatile officers and endowed their principality with institutions traditionally devoted to the governance of states: an active chancellery, a general treasury, an exchequer and even a deemed sovereign court of justice. At the new castle of Argentan, the prince court hosted some two hundred and thirty officers and servants, and sparkled with a so far unsuspected lustre. The prosopographic approach, which studies the sociological features and the influence networks shaping the careers of the agents of authority, herein guides the discovery of the princely administration

This chapter examines the changing role of the younger brother of the king in the monarchy of France, from the Wars of Religion to the Revolution. It traces the evolution of the relationship between these princely siblings, from one of competition and a desire for independence to a tighter bond of loyalty and an understanding that the needs of the dynasty must always proceed individual desires. Like other major grandees in this period, they recognised that cooperation with the Crown as an embodiment of the state was usually more beneficial for their personal and dynastic success than competing with it. This was not always a smooth transition, and the first two princes examined here, François, duke of Alençon, and Gaston, duke of Orléans, spent much of their lives in rebellion against royal authority of their elder brothers. The second pair, Philippe, duke of Orléans, and Louis-Stanislas, count of Provence, learned to express independent authority in different, less threatening, ways, notably in the patronization of arts and architecture, the development of private properties, and the cultivation of clients and favourites separate from those of the monarch.