Demography, Peasantry, and Family in Early Medieval Provence, 813–814

Given the lack of sources that historical demography typically uses to describe populations’ demographic behaviour, little is known about the population structure of France during the Middle Ages. One must therefore rely on—and decipher—other types of information often collected for economic purposes. In this article, the authors examine the inventory of peasant families working for the Abbey of Saint Victor in Provence in the 9th century. The age structure of this population can be used to deduce new information on family sizes and types, where they were settled, and age-specific mortality risks.