Ce colloque international a pour but d’éclairer la place des assemblées d’habitants de la fin du Moyen Âge. À l’écart, en collaboration ou en opposition avec les gouvernements communaux, les assemblées d’habitants ont parfois été définies comme des lieux d’une « démocratie médiévale » en réunissant les chefs de famille d’un même lieu. Cette question permet d’aborder le rôle des assemblées au Moyen Âge et de la participation politique, et ainsi de renouveler notre compréhension des interactions entre gouvernement local et participation citoyenne médiévale. La dimension militaire de ces assemblées, de même que leur définition dans les textes juridiques et politiques pourront également être approfondies.

Argument

Assemblies of inhabitants played a central, yet largely unexplored, role in the governance of villages and towns during the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. Sometimes considered the precursors to the organisation of communities that gave rise to councils or the existence of permanent elected officials,[9] such assemblies persisted into the modern era in certain places, while the administration of villages and towns was based on increasing cooperation between municipal representatives and the lord, prince and their officers. Working independently, in collaboration with, or in opposition to municipal representatives, assemblies of inhabitants have, in some cases, been perceived as places of ‘medieval democracy’,[10] or been seen at least as evidence of a high level of dynamism in assembly practices within municipal life.

The inhabitants (or some of them) frequently met at the level of the neighbourhood, parish, guild for the upkeep of a church, trade association, village or town, giving rise to assemblies of varying sizes within the community.[11] With regards to the authorities, these assemblies could be formally established and recognised as legitimate (for example as an arengo, concio or parlement public), arise spontaneously, or even condemned by the powers that be. We are thus primarily interested in meetings which brought together significant numbers of individuals who were linked by their shared place of residence,[12] in order to debate common issues. This excludes the various representative bodies, particularly community councils, even in cases where inhabitants are invited to participate by elected representatives.

As urban governments and states take shape against a backdrop of demographic and economic growth and decline, as well as social and documentary transformations, this study examines inhabitants’ assemblies across a broad swathe of Western Europe, including the Italian and Iberian peninsulas, France, the Low Countries, the Holy Roman Empire, Scandinavia, and the British Isles. Departing from the traditional view of these assemblies as a political instrument in the hands of a communal elite or a mere validating chamber for royal, princely or seigneurial decisions, we consider it essential to reassess how these assemblies functioned in practice, highlighting their unique characteristics in relation to other actors of community government. We thus hope to reintroduce these assemblies to the heart of debate at a time when renewed attention is being given to the political practices of ordinary people[13] and how inhabitants manage common spaces.[14]

An initial symposium held at the University of Nice on 17 and 18 June 2025 provided an opportunity to review several aspects of these assemblies, mainly in France, Italy and the Low Countries.

In terms of documentation, the speakers highlighted both the variety of sources available and the numerous gaps in the records. The absence or disappearance of the records of assemblies does not necessarily prove the dissolution of the institutions themselves.

One of the most stimulating topics of discussion was the problem of defining these assemblies of inhabitants. It was agreed that the most relevant criterion seemed to be that of direct participation by inhabitants and, beyond their status, that of lived citizenship.[15] Implicitly, this reflection highlighted the existence of excluded groups, such as women, unfree persons, children, men unable to pay taxes or bear arms ; and excluded communities, such as Jews.

The way these assemblies of inhabitants were held (gathering many individuals in one place, usually outdoors, whether or not convened by the authorities) raised questions regarding the ability of individuals to express differences of opinion and about the documentary recording of these disagreements.

Finally, the last point raised concerned the capacity for action of these assemblies, either as a moment of peace and consensus within the community (election of representatives, resolution of conflicts between inhabitants, the distribution of taxes, the management of communal property), or as a means of palliating the power exercised by external authorities (seigniorial, princely or royal, for example).

Based on this, the areas we would like to explore at the next conference are as follows :

1.  The functioning of assemblies, from medieval times to the modern era

The general question of how assemblies of inhabitants functioned could be explored in greater depth through new papers, particularly by comparing different areas and historical periods. Specific attention should be given to assemblies held in villages. In order to strike a balance with the first meeting, proposals for papers on Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia, Spain and Southern Italy are particularly welcome, as are case studies concerning the modern period. Studies concerning other areas during the medieval period are still welcome, exploring themes already discussed in the first session (the names of these assemblies, meeting procedures, composition, documentation, diachronic evolution and, finally, their capacity for action).

2.  What models for assemblies of inhabitants ?

Another area of reflection that we would like to develop concerns the question of the models that structured and influenced assemblies of inhabitants in both the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The ecclesiastical matrix of these assemblies can be examined using case studies on lay assemblies in the Church or on the links between assemblies of inhabitants and parish or church councils or fraternity meetings. The persistent role of these assemblies in the management of alms or hospitals and charitable institutions may also be an avenue worth exploring.

Other models appeared to be structuring, whether on a smaller scale with provincial or national assemblies (meetings of states, things, shires, etc.), or on a local scale with the model of trade assemblies. Their links with assemblies of inhabitants and the circulation of practices may also be the subject of proposals for papers.

3.  The assembly of the people in arms

We would also like to revisit the military dimension of some of these assemblies of inhabitants, whether in terms of their origins and models (the people in arms, ‘pleas’, etc.) or their roles in the areas of defence, fortification and warfare. The importance of crises and revolts in the holding and modification of inhabitants’ assemblies was highlighted at the 2025 symposium and could be explored further.

4.  Inhabitants’ assemblies in law and political texts

Finally, we would like set out and define the place of assemblies of inhabitants in legal and political texts, in order to go beyond the approach taken in pragmatic writings. First, studies of the link between the legal foundations of the community, the universitas, and inhabitants’ assemblies will allow for a more thorough exploration of the avenues raised by Pierre Michaud-Quantin in greater depth.[16] Secondly, these texts seek to define the procedures for convening, composing and conducting these assemblies, which will shed additional light on the case studies proposed to date. This approach may be based on a variety of texts, including civil and canon law, medieval and modern political treatises, and works by ancient authors.

Submission guidelines

Proposals for presentations (25 minutes) should be submitted by 15 March (title and abstract of approximately half a page, brief CV) to the following address : assemblees.habitants@gmail.com

Practical information

The conference will be held on 21 and 22 October 2026 at the Institut Catholique de Paris. Presentations may be delivered in English, French or Italian. The texts of the presentations may be published.

Organising Committee

• Cléo Rager, maîtresse de conférences, Institut Catholique de Paris, UR « Religion, Culture et Société » (EA 7403), membre associée au Lamop (UMR 8589)
• Marie-Émeline Sterlin-Cathébras, docteure, membre associée au Lamop (UMR 8589)
• Florie Varitille, maîtresse de conférences, Université Nice Côte d’Azur, membre rattachée au CEPAM (UMR 6274)

Scientific Committee

• Pierre Chastang, professeur des Universités, Université Paris-Saclay - ISP UMR7220
• Rosa Maria Dessì, professeure des Universités, Université Nice Côte d’Azur - CEPAM (UMR 6274)
• Michel Hébert, professeur émérite, Université du Québec à Montréal
• Christopher Fletcher, chargé de recherche, CNRS - IRHIS (Lille)
• Michel Lauwers, professeur des Universités, Université Nice Côte d’Azur - CEPAM (UMR 6274)
• Olivier Mattéoni, professeur des Universités, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - Lamop (UMR 8589)
• François Otchakovsky-Laurens, maître de conférences, Université Aix-Marseille - LA3M
• Olivier Richard, professeur des Universités, Université de Fribourg, Suisse.

[1] Patrick Boucheron et Denis Menjot, La ville médiévale, Paris, Éditions du Seuil, 2011 [2003], p. 310-311 ; Jean-Pierre Delumeau, « De l’assemblée précommunale au temps des conseils. En Italie centrale » dans Marcel Détienne (éd.), Qui veut prendre la parole  ?, Paris, Seuil, 2003, p. 219.

[2] Albert Rigaudière, art. « Assemblées politiques » dans Claude Gauvard, Alain de Libera et Michel Zink (dir.), Dictionnaire du Moyen Âge, Paris, Presses universitaires de France, 2009 [2002], p. 98 ; Marta Gravela, « Medieval Alpine communal politics under the spotlight. The ERC project DEMALPS », Studi di storia medioevale e di diplomatica - Nuova Serie, 2023, p.  466.

[3] Sur ce terme, voir notamment Pierre Michaud-Quantin, Universitas. Expressions du mouvement communautaire dans le Moyen Âge latin, Paris, Vrin, 1970. Thierry Dutour quant à lui définit aussi la communauté comme « l’association de ceux qui demeurent en un même lieu, vouée à traiter les affaires communes, donc publiques, selon des procédures garantissant la régularité du processus de formation d’une volonté collective (par exemple, la tenue d’assemblées générales des habitants) » dans Thierry Dutour, « Dire l’identité des “communautéz de ville”. L’exemple de quelques villes de la langue d’oïl (XIIIe-XVe siècles) », Histoire urbaine, 2012/3 (n° 35), p. 67-82.

[4] Pour une réflexion sur les termes de communauté et d’habitants, voir également Joseph Morsel (dir.), Communautés d’habitants au Moyen Âge (XIe-XVe siècles), Paris, Éditions de la Sorbonne, 2018 ainsi que son article « “Communautés d’installés”. Pour une histoire de l’appartenance médiévale au village ou à la ville », EspacesTemps.net, 2014.

[5] C’est par exemple le cas du programme “Assembly Project” (2010-2013) sur les assemblées dans le Nord de l’Europe (2010-2013), qui a donné lieu à la publication de Sarah Semple et al., Negotiating the North : Meeting-Places in the Middle Ages in the North Sea Zone, Londres, Routledge, 2021.

[6] Voir notamment le programme « VILCO - Villes, Communautés, Communs » porté par François Otchakovsky-Laurens, Nathalie Molina et David Ollivier pour l’espace méditerranéen (URL : https://vilco.hypotheses.org/a-propos, consulté le 2 juillet 2024) ou encore, pour l’espace néerlandais, Janna Coomans, « Making Good and Breaking Bad : Materiality and Community in Netherlandish Cities, 1380–1520 », The English Historical Review, 2022, vol. 137, no 587, p. 1053‑1081.

[7] Olivier Richard, « Experiences of Citizenship in Late Medieval Southern German Lands », The Medieval History Journal, novembre 2024, vol. 27, no 2, p. 298‑322.

[8] Pierre Michaud-Quantin, Universitas. Expressions du mouvement communautaire dans le Moyen Âge latin, Paris, Vrin, 1970.

[9] Patrick Boucheron et Denis Menjot, La ville médiévale, Paris, Éditions du Seuil, 2011 [2003], p. 310-311 ; Jean-Pierre Delumeau, « De l’assemblée précommunale au temps des conseils. En Italie centrale » dans Marcel Détienne (éd.), Qui veut prendre la parole ?, Paris, Seuil, 2003, p. 219.

[10] Albert Rigaudière, art. « Assemblées politiques » in Claude Gauvard, Alain de Libera et Michel Zink (dir.), Dictionnaire du Moyen Âge, Paris, Presses universitaires de France, 2009 [2002], p. 98 ; Marta Gravela, « Medieval Alpine communal politics under the spotlight. The ERC project DEMALPS », Studi di storia medioevale e di diplomatica - Nuova Serie, 2023, p.  466.

[11] On this term, see Pierre Michaud-Quantin, Universitas. Expressions du mouvement communautaire dans le Moyen Âge latin, Paris, Vrin, 1970. Thierry Dutour also defines community as ‘the association of those who live in the same place, dedicated to dealing with common, and therefore public, affairs according to procedures that guarantee the regularity of the process of forming a collective will (for example, holding general assemblies of inhabitants)’ in Thierry Dutour, « Dire l’identité des “communautéz de ville”. L’exemple de quelques villes de la langue d’oïl (XIIIe-XVe siècles) », Histoire urbaine, 2012/3 (n° 35), p. 67-82.

[12] For further reflection on the terms community and inhabitants, see also Joseph Morsel (dir.), Communautés d’habitants au Moyen Âge (XIe-XVe siècles), Paris, Éditions de la Sorbonne, 2018 ainsi que son article « “Communautés d’installés”. Pour une histoire de l’appartenance médiévale au village ou à la ville », EspacesTemps.net, 2014.

[13] This is the case, for example, with the programme ‘Assembly Project” (2010-2013)’ on assemblies in Northern Europe (2010–2013), which led to the publication of Sarah Semple et al., Negotiating the North : Meeting-Places in the Middle Ages in the North Sea Zone, Londres, Routledge, 2021.

[14] See in particular the programme « VILCO - Villes, Communautés, Communs », led by François Otchakovsky-Laurens, Nathalie Molina and David Ollivier for the Mediterranean region (URL : https://vilco.hypotheses.org/a-propos, accessed on 2 July 2024) or, for the Netherlands, Janna Coomans, « Making Good and Breaking Bad : Materiality and Community in Netherlandish Cities, 1380–1520 », The English Historical Review, 2022, vol. 137, no 587, p. 1053‑1081.

[15] Olivier Richard, « Experiences of Citizenship in Late Medieval Southern German Lands », The Medieval History Journal, novembre 2024, vol. 27, no 2, p. 298‑322.

[16] Pierre Michaud-Quantin, Universitas. Expressions du mouvement communautaire dans le Moyen Âge latin, Paris, Vrin, 1970.