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Unbelief in the Middle Ages has been extensively studied over the past few years: however, these studies have systematically neglected the Early Middle Ages (6th-10th centuries) and focused on the later Middle Ages. It is often assumed that these alleged « dark ages » were incapable of critical thinking and that the catholic faith was challenged only by « heresy », « superstition » or the « remnants of paganism ». In other words, belief was only challenged by other beliefs, but not by doubts or unbelief. This paper is the first systematic survey of evidence regarding this issue. Over the entire period, central beliefs of the Christian faith were seriously put in question: the resurrection of the dead, the material existence of hell, divine providence, miracles, real presence in the eucharist. The first medieval demonstration of the existence of God was also drafted during this period. Quite often, these doubts are defended in public and well-argued. They rely on empirical evidence, on the observation of nature and on the inconsistencies of the doctrine. This is not to say, of course, that early medieval society in general was not religious as a whole; but the findings of this article suggest that skepticism in general has a deep anthropological dimension and cannot be considered to be the prerogative of more « advanced » historical periods, as opposed to any « dark ages ». The existence of this skepticism also helps to explain many specific features of this period of time: the widespread indifference towards clerical threats (of hell, for instance) and towards excommunication, the lack of religious zeal, the few cases of conversion to another religion and, lastly, the rise of popular heresy in the high middle ages – some of which heresies eventually discarded beliefs which had already been questioned many times during the previous centuries.

In 1434, the English Government in the Kingdom of France was threatened in Normandy by both the French armies and the Norman “brigands”, as the resistance fighters against the English occupation were called. Overtaken by events, John, duke of Bedford and English regent in France, was forced to change his policy. A Public Security Ordinance compelled every Norman subject to have his own weapons and to perform military training duties, in order to repel the French, the brigands or even the English soldiers in case of plunder. Near the town of Falaise, some of these Norman milicians attacked and killed several Englishmen who tried to steal some food. As a retaliation, 1 200 Normans are said to have been mercilessly slaughtered near a small place called Vicques. Some historians have recently tried to minimize this massacre. It would have been no more than a tragic incident caused by some mercenaries recovering from a recent defeat against French troops. It would have superficially affected public opinion, because the Normans were too deeply concerned about the risk of crop failure to focus on this topic. We intend to prove that Richard Venables, the English free-lance captain which a single chronicle names as the guilty party, could not have been near Falaise during the massacre. The real perpetrators were English regular soldiers from the Norman garrisons. As a matter of fact, this butchery strongly raised indignation as far as in Paris and did much to enlarge the gap between the English soldiers and the Norman subjects. Such was the cause of the Norman uprisings in 1435 and 1436. The Vicques massacre had been a turning point in the history of Lancastrian Normandy.

Landlords of the Southern part of Brittany at the end of the Middle Ages used by themselves management or administration tools coming from the Ducal Chambers of accounts at the end of the fourteenth century. Those improvements are significant during the fifteenth century, especially with the increasing preservation of writings. Which tools were used by landlord officers to lead and exert a hold over lords' dependants? What were difficulties coming accross landlord officers action? Could we find such elements in the last Middle Ages preserved writings? These issues are particularly acute and this paper aims to study, thanks to current historical researches leading on this area and this period. How writings were thought and then executed by public clerk? Those different steps are investigated in this paper in order to compare different landlord structures. Another main purpose is to establish parallels between the rural landlords of the Southern part of Brittany at the end of the Middle Ages. Could we note differences in management or accountancy amongst landlord Britton structures? Current researches lead to deal with renewed attention in depth these issues. Lower landlords take on responsability for tools, methods and approaches already in use in upper landlord structures. There is not obvious interval at the end of the Middle Ages. Thus, it could be said there is not obvious differences between seigniorial level in the Southern part of Brittany during this period. Template or other standards were distinctly established, as it is thought and highlighted by historians such as Jean Kerhervé for the Britton ducal estate in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

During the Renaissance, there was no trust between the princes and when they met, they often chose a border, a river or a shore. They saw each other without receiving. Between the Sixteenth and Eighteenth centuries, the building of trust involved the development of hospitality. The stranger must be welcomed, accommodated, but also entertained. Festivities were an antidote to melancholy and country nostalgia. More than a third of the interviews thus included festivities. This article examines the evolution of the spectacles and leisure activities offered to the princes. The system of entertainments certainly evolved according to the courts' fashions, but the context of the interview also required choosing what was likely to build trust and what must be avoided so as not to inconvenience the visitor. In this way, an international courtesy is developed through live performances.

This article examines the enduring disrepute of medical warnings and environmental concerns about steam locomotive smoke, through the study of two anecdotes referring to historical episodes from the 1820-30s: the concerns about the operation of tunnels; the landowners' apprehension of local nuisances. These anecdotes, shaped by railway promoters and spread by French popularizers between the middle of the 19th century and the end of the interwar period, support the idea of an irrational attitude towards the appearance of train in space and society. The context of their production and use reveals they played a role in the glorification of railway engineers by exaggerating the difficulties encountered. As instruments of a moral judgment, they also supported the emergence of a technology-oriented rhetoric coming to the aid of new inventions. In doing so, their circulation up to more contemporary debates on technology contributed to the denial of certain hazards and nuisances, then to their obliteration from collective memory. In the age of steam, as any other industrial activity, the railway industry was the source of local conflicts and sometimes serious incidents prompting a response from the responsible authorities: railway tunnels were long considered as unhealthy or even dangerous, especially regarding workers; the smoke emitted by locomotives, a contributor to urban air pollution, has gradually been regarded as a public problem.