Annales School of Historiography

The Annales School of historiography is one of the most important developments in twentieth-century history-writing. This school of historiography emerged in France with the foundation of a journal – Annales of Economic and Social History. The journal was founded in 1929 by Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre. Annals School of historiography was developed through the writings of three generations of historians. They are March Bloch and Lucien Febvre, Fernand Braudel, and Immanuel Ley Roy Ladurie. Annales School was critical of the German scientific school. They also criticised the positive tradition. The Annales School brought a paradigm shift in the writing of history. The British historian Peter Burke evaluated the contributions of this School and considered it ‘The French Historical Revolution’. 

The Founders

The founders of the Annales movement were Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre. The Annales movement was against the German empiric school. They also criticised the positivist tradition. Instead of focusing on politics and individuals, they focused on social grouping and collective mindsets. Apart from the primary documents, they made use of a wide range of sources, including maps, folklore, and literature. They brought an Interdisciplinary approach and linked the study of the past with approaches and methods of the social sciences. They wrote history beyond the traditional chronological barriers.

Works of Marc Bloch

• Feudal Society (in two volumes)
• The Royal Touch
• French Rural History
• Strange Defeat
• Historians Craft

Bloch stressed the need for comparison - 'there is no true understanding without a certain range of comparison’. He also stressed the need to cross-question historical sources.

Lucien Febvre and the Study of Mentalities

Febvre analysed the area of emotions and beliefs. His book The Problem of Unbelief in the Sixteenth Century-The Religion of Rabelais is a critique of religion. His celebrated essay, ‘Sensibility and History: How to Reconstitute the Emotional Life of the Past’ extended the domain of history.

Fernand Braudel and the Mediterranean

Fernand Braudel wrote the book The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II. The book provides an account of the interplay between the geography of the region and the power struggle between Spain and the Ottoman Turks. He placed the Mediterranean Sea at the centre of his book. The book is vast in scope and he attempted to write a total history. He continued the Annales movement, widening its focus to include long-term history and economic history.

Immanuel Le Roy Laduri

He was a leading exponent of the concept of "total history" pioneered by the French "Annales" school. His important books are:

• The Peasants of Languedoc
• Montaillou: Cathars and Catholics in a French
• Times of Feast and Times of Famines
• Territory of the Historian

Le Roy Ladurie also wrote about rural history and peasants of the early modern period, and the last thousand years of climatic history.

Features and Contributions of Annales School

• Annales School emphasised the need for interdisciplinary research in history. They established collaboration with other disciplines such as geography, sociology, economics, and anthropology.
• Annales School insisted on "a broadened and deepened history". They extended the scope of historical studies by introducing new themes and methods.
• They introduced themes such as emotions, mentalities, and human behaviour in historical research.
• They used a wide range of source materials including maps, literature, folklore, photographs, etc.
• They attacked the “mere narration of facts” and tried to interpret social phenomena.
• Annales School opposed histories of selected individuals and narrow documentation.
• They introduced the concept of “Total History” to observe the long and medium-term evolution of the economy, society, and civilization.
• They wrote history beyond the traditional chronological frames.

Annales School placed history as a part of Social Science. It was an invitation to historians to learn from Economics, Sociology, Anthropology, and Geography to assess social movements and change. In its later phase, Annales School contributed to the development of gender history, microhistory, history of minorities, and cultural anthropology.