Philippe Ariès
Philippe Ariès (1914–1984) was a French historian whose studies of childhood, family life, and death helped shape the history of mentalities.
History of mentalities: Historical study of collective attitudes, beliefs, and forms of thought in everyday life. Ariès helped establish this approach by tracing long-term changes in ordinary attitudes.
Centuries of Childhood: Ariès’s 1960 study arguing that childhood became a distinct social category through historical change. This is his best-known demonstration of how attitudes toward childhood could be historicized.
Georges Duby: A French medieval historian associated with the Annales School and the history of social structures. Duby shared Ariès’s interest in social history and long-term transformations.
Philippe Ariès and the history of childhood debate: Scholarly debate over Ariès’s claims about the emergence of childhood as a distinct social category. Critics dispute whether his evidence supports a broad transformation in how medieval societies viewed children.
Annales School: A French historiographical movement emphasizing social structures, geography, and long-term historical change. Its broad social history shaped the intellectual setting in which Ariès worked.
Western Attitudes toward Death: Ariès’s study of changing European attitudes and practices surrounding death from the Middle Ages to modernity. It applies his historical approach to mortality, mourning, and funeral customs.
Michel Foucault: A French philosopher and historian whose studies examined knowledge, institutions, and systems of power. Foucault’s histories of changing social categories offer a close intellectual comparison.
Medieval childhood: The experiences and social meanings of childhood in European societies during the Middle Ages. Evidence about medieval children complicates Ariès’s claim that childhood was not then recognized distinctly.
Historical demography: The study of past populations using records such as censuses, parish registers, and family documents. Ariès drew on demographic evidence to investigate family life and childhood.
History of the family: The study of how family structures, relationships, and domestic life change over time. Ariès examined the historical formation of modern family life.