Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie was born in 1929. He has had a distinguished career, serving as Administrateur Général of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (1987-94); member of the Institute (Academy of Moral and Political Sciences). He is a professor atthe Collège de France and chair of the department of the History of Modern Civilization.

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• Part 1 The ecology of Montaillou - the house and the shepherd: environment and authority; the domus; a dominant house - the Clergue family; the shepherds; the great migrations; the life of the shepherds in the Pyrenees; the shepherd's mental outlook. Part 2 An archaeology of Montaillou - from body language to myth: body language and sex; the libido of the Clergues; temporary unions; marriage and love; marriage and the condition of women; childhood and other ages in life; death in Montaillou; cultural exchanges; social relationships; concepts of time and space; fate, magic and salvation; religion in practice; morality, wealth and labour; magic and the other world.