Parish registers of civil status in Transylvania in the second half of the nineteenth century. Documentary signification

Brie, Mircea (2010): Parish registers of civil status in Transylvania in the second half of the nineteenth century. Documentary signification. Published in: Transylvanian Review , Vol. vol. X, (2011): pp. 187-208.

Abstract

The parish registers of civil status, although the main sources of documentation for historical demography, are used with significant results by the other sciences such as history, ethnography, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, etc.. The perspectives of approaching the rural community and family have expanded considerably using these sources of ecclesiastical origin documentaries. The first researchers who refer to a systematic methodology that uses the parish registers of civil status as documentary sources for the completion of demographic data suggest the use of other sources, hitherto unused for this purpose. They will apply a new method, a modern innovation, the stripping and analysis of parish registers of civil status within the meaning of the reconstruction of demographic events (birth, marriage, death). The family reconstitution method, by analyzing the parish registers of civil status proposed by L. Henry and M. Fleury, has revolutionized the field of study dealing with people. Louis Henry believes that the parish registers of civil status is the ultimate source of information for the pre-state period and this is precisely the reason for which he proposes restoring the family’s biological life. Church registers are only able to give us an insight into the family in rural areas, at least for the second half of the XIX century. Church documents, the fundamental sources for researching family life, are of two categories: 1. civil status registers and annual reports of the parishes, 2. Church authorities funds, documents and minutes recorded by the bishops. These documents are complex sources for the researcher interested in historical demography, social history, and the economic history of toponymy, birthdays, etc. Processing the data contained in these records requires a specific methodology. They allow us to observe trends that have occurred on the long-term demographic events such as: birth, marriage or death. These records are presented for a long time as their only source of documentation regarding civil status and demographic events in the life of most people. Researching these records can unveil important features of natural population movement, the phenomenon of birth, of marriage, the divorce or death. Then, an analysis of form and content of these registers can capture the cultural universe of the priests who fill these records. These Church documents proved to be important, especially where other documentary sources (mainly those in the category of records made by the state) have proved insufficient, incomplete and unclear. The parish registers of civil status in this case are suitable for both a qualitative analysis, and a quantitative one at the level of local communities. Beyond their usefulness and significance of documentary source, these documents should be regarded as being subjective because they were managed by priests (every priest is then an exponent to promote demographic and confessional "realities" and such realities were viewed from the perspective of his own religious convictions). The parish registers, however, prove to be the only documents that allow us to penetrate the privacy of individuals in each community. A documentary is also undeniably a good dowry that researchers should promote and use in their research not only locally but also to verify and demonstrate certain behaviours and overall trends.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Parish registers; Transylvania; family; ethnicity; confession; community
• Subjects: J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J13 - Fertility ; Family Planning ; Child Care ; Children ; Youth; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology; N - Economic History > N3 - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J11 - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts

References

Jaques Duparquier, Introduction à la démographie historique (Paris – Tournai – Monreal: Gamma, 1974)

Ştefan Pascu, Demografia istorică, in the collective volume Populaţie şi societate. Izvoare de demografie istorică, vol. I, published by Ştefan Pascu (Cluj-Napoca: Editura Dacia, 1972)

Sorina Paula Bolovan, Familia în satul românesc din Transilvania. A doua jumătate a secolului al XIX-lea şi începutul secolului XX (Cluj Napoca: Centrul de Studii Transilvane, Fundaţia Culturală Română, 1999)

Roger Mols, Introduction à la démographie historique de villes de l`Europe du XIVe au XVIIe siècle, Receuil de Travaux Printing House, Louvain, 1954-1956.

André LaRose, “L`enregistrement des événements démographiques par les églises: une question internationale”, in the collective Populaţie şi societate. Izvoare de demografie istorică, vol. III, published by Ştefan Pascu (Cluj-Napoca, Editura Dacia, 1980)

Annie Vidal, Démographie. Eléments d`analyse et évolution du peuplement humain (Grenoble: Presse Universitaires de Grenoble, 1994)

Brunnel C., “L`enregistrement des baptêmes, mariages et décês, sous l`ancien régime, en Belgique”, in the collective volume Populaţie şi societate. Izvoare de demografie istorică, vol. III, published by Ştefan Pascu (Cluj-Napoca, Editura Dacia, 1980)

Sorina Paula Bolovan, “Istoria familiei şi demografia istorică în România la început de mileniu”, în Caiete de antropologie istorică, anul I, nr. 1 (Cluj-Napoca: 2002)

L. Henry, E. Gautier, La population de Crulai, paroisse normande: étude historique (Paris: Institut national d’études démographiques, 1958).

Pierre Goubert, Beauvais et Beauvaises de 1600 á 1730. Contribution á l’histoire sociale de la France au XVIIeme siècle (Paris: Service d’Edition et de Vente des Publications de l’Education Nationale, 1960).

Pierre Chaunu, Civilizaţia Europei clasice, vol. I (Bucureşti: Editura Meridiane, 1989)

Ioan Horga, “Consideraţii pe marginea evoluţiei demografiei istorice: metodă, surse de documentare, modelare proprie”, in Corneliu Crăciun, Antonio Faur (coord.), Istoria - ca experienţă intelectuală (Oradea: Editura Universităţii din Oradea, 2001)

Bertrand Grille, Les sources statistiques de l’histoire de France (Paris: 1964).

Alain Girard, Le choix du conjoint. Une enquete psycho-sociologique en France (Paris: Presse Universitaire de France - Institut national d’études démographiques, 1964);

L. Henry, La fécondité du mariage: Nouvelle méthode de mesure (Paris: Institut national d’études démographiques, 1965);

L. Henry, Le manuele de demographie historique (Geneva-Paris: Librairie Droz, 1967); John T. Noonan, Contraception et mariaje (Paris: 1969)

E.A. Wrigley (coord.), An Introduction to English Historical Demography. From the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Century (Londra, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1966).

Pierre Chaunu, Histoire science sociale. La durée, l’espace et l’homme á l’epoque moderne (Paris: Edition SEDES, 1974)

E.A. Wrigley, Société et Population (Paris: Hachette, 1969).

J. Hajnal, “European marriage pattern in perspective”, in Populations History, volume edited by D.V. Glass, D.E.C. (Londra: Eversley, 1968), 101-148.

E. Shorter, The Making of the Modern Family (Londra: 1976).

Pierre Chaunu, “Histoire science sociale”, 316; G. Ranki, The European periphery and industriliazation (1780-1914) (Budapesta: 1982).

Martine Segalen, Nuptialité et alliance. Choix du conjoint dans une commune d’Eure (Paris: Maisonneuve et Larose, 1972).

Martine Segalen, Mari et femme dans la société paysanne (Paris, Flammarion, 1980)

Martine Segalen, Sociologie de la famille, ed. IV, (Paris: Armand Colin, 1996)

Yvonne Knibiehler, Histoire de mère, du Moyen Age á nos jours (Paris:, Montolba, 1980) (în colaborare cu Chaterine Fouguet);

Yvonne Knibiehler, La femme au temps des colonies (Paris: Stock, 1985) (în colaborare cu Régine Goutalier);

Yvonne Knibiehler, La Femme et les médecins (Paris: Hachette, 1983) (în colaborare cu Chaterine Fouguet);

Yvonne Knibiehler, Les pères aussi ont une histoire... (Paris: Hachette, 1987)

J.L. Flandrin, Familles. Parente, maison, sexualité dans l’ancienne societé (Paris: Hachette, 1976).

Edward Shorter, Naissance de la famille moderne XVIIIe-XXe siècle (Paris: Édition du Seuil, 1977)

Robert Muchembled, “Famille et l`histoire des mentalités (XVI – XVIIIe siècles). Etat present de la recherché”, in Revue des Etudes Sud-Est Europeenne, 1974, nr. 3, 349 – 369.

Jack Goody, La famille en Europe (French edition translated by Jean-Perre Bardon with a foreword by Jacques Le Goff) (Paris: 2001).

M. Mitterauer, R. Sieder, The European Family. Patriarchy to Partnership from the Midlle Age to the Present (Oxford: Blackwell, 1982).

André Burguiére, Christiane Klapish-Zuber, Martine Segalen, Françoise Zonabend (coord.), Histoire de la famille (Paris: Armand Colin, 1986).

Jaques Duparquier, “Sur la population francaise aux XVII-eme et XVIII-eme siècles”, in Revue Historique, nr. 485, ianuarie-martie 1968, p. 43-79;

Jaques Duparquier, “La population du Bassin parisien (XVII-XVIII)”, in Hommange a Marcel Reinhard. Sur la population francaise au XVIIIe et au XIXe siècle, Paris, 1973;

Jacques Dupâquier, La population rurale du Bassin parisien à l'époque de Louis XIV (Paris: École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, 1979);

Jaques Duparquier, “Le mouvement saisonnier des mariages en France (1856-1910)”, in Annales de demographie historique (Paris: Société de Démographie Historique, 1977); La population francaise aux XVII-eme et XVIII-eme siècles (Paris: 1979). Liviu Moldovan, “Înregistrarea de către biserici a botezaţilor, cununaţilor şi înmormântărilor în Ţările Române în secolele XVIII – XIX”, in the collective volume Populaţie şi societate. Izvoare de demografie istorică, vol. III, published by Ştefan Pascu (Cluj-Napoca, Editura Dacia, 1980)

Ştefan Pascu, Ştefan Pascu, L`actualité de la démographie historique, în volumul colectiv Populaţie şi societate. Izvoare de demografie istorică, vol. III, apărut sub redacţia lui Ştefan Pascu (Cluj-Napoca, Editura Dacia, 1980)

Traian Rotariu (coord.), Maria Semeniuc, Mezei Elemér, Recensământul din 1910. Transilvania (Cluj Napoca: Studia Censualica Transsilvanica, Editura Staff, 1999)

Gheorghe Şişeştean, Etnie, confesiune şi căsătorie în nord vestul Transilvaniei (Zalău: Editura Caiete Silvane, 2002)

Traian Rotariu (coord.), Recensământul din 1880. Transilvania (Cluj Napoca: Studia Censualica Transsilvanica, Editura Staff, 1997)

Alexandru Ilieş, Etnie, confesiune şi comportament electoral în Crişana şi Maramureş (Cluj-Napoca: Editura Dacia, 1998)

J.C. Chesnais, La transition démographique (Paris: Presse Universitaire de France, 1986)

Ioan Bolovan, Transilvania între Revoluţia de la 1848 şi Unirea din 1918. Contribuţii demografice (Cluj-Napoca: Centrul de Studii Transilvane, Fundaţia Culturală Română, 2000)

Magyar Statistikai Évkönyv. Szerkeszti és kiadja. Az országos Magyar Kir. Statistikai. Hivatal I Füzet (1877 – Budapesta, 1878; 1879 – Budapesta, 1881; 1881 – Budapesta, 1883; 1885 – Budapesta, 1887; 1887 – Budapesta, 1889; 1889 – Budapesta, 1891;

Iosif I. Adam, I. Puşcaş, Izvoare de demografie istorică, vol. II, Secolul al XIX-lea – 1914. Transilvania, (Bucureşti: Direcţia Generală a Arhivelor Statului, 1987)

Traian Rotariu (coord.), Recensământul din 1900. Transilvania (Cluj Napoca: Studia Censualica Transsilvanica, Editura Staff, 1999)