Stanley Théry: Social network analysis between Tours notables and Louis XI (1461-1483)

Since his coronation in 1461, Louis XI preferred to live near the city of Tours. His court, household, chancellery and many other officers had to follow him, and they installed themselves in the town. As a result, the bourgeoisie of Tours and central authorities of France grew closer and weaved a social network. Moreover, many Tourangeaux notables participated in the construction of the modern state by becoming king’s officers. The purpose of the study is to define both the advantages and disadvantages of the social networks analysis in order to understand the involvement of the bourgeoisie in the French monarchy.

In order to reconstitute the network, information on the relationships between each person is needed. This information can be found in a serial source like the municipal accounts. Firstly, this source shows that the town gave gifts such as meat, fish and wine, to dignitaries in order to get services in return, and had to buy goods,. Consequently, a relationship between the merchant, the buyer, the donor and the donee is revealed. Secondly, the bourgeoisie of Tours organized missions toward dignitaries to present requests; this produced a relationship between the travelers and the recipients. This two means allow the production of graphs that help analyze the groups of influence and special relationships between the town and the central power and even discover the people which structured the network.