Jean Bérenger | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 October 1934 |
| Died | 8 September 2024 (age 90) |
| Occupations | Historian, university professor |
| Board member of | Professor at the Faculty ofHistory of theParis-Sorbonne University |
| Awards | Limantour Prize (2005) |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Paris-Sorbonne University |
| Academic work | |
| Main interests | History of Central Europe,History of Eastern Europe,Military history,Habsburgs[1] |
Jean Bérenger (2 October 1934 – 8 September 2024) was aFrenchhistorian, director of research at theCNRS, professor at the Faculty ofHistory of theUniversity of Strasbourg and, starting from 1990, at theUniversity of Paris-Sorbonne.
Bérenger specializes in the history of the countries ofCentral andEastern Europe and inmilitary history, mainly of themodern era,[2] but has also published works on thecontemporary era. His doctorate dealt with the history ofAustria andHungary in the 17th century. Bérenger died on 8 September 2024, at the age of 90.[3]
In 1974, he suggested other historians of the 17th century to "see, and study,minister-favorites not only in a national context but as a 'European phenomenon.'"[4] His seminal 1974Annales article on "royalfavourites" has been credited as an important comparative study on the subject.[5] He argued that the simultaneous success of several 17th-century minister-favorites in their respective countries was not coincidental, but reflected some change that took place in the period. J.H. Elliot and Lawrence Brockliss's work (that culminated in the collection of essaysThe World of the Favourite), undertaken to explore the matter put forward by Bérenger, became the most important comparative treatment of this subject.[5]
In 1975, he published what in the 2020s was still the only modern survey of the financial relationship between Government and Estates in the period between thePeace of Westphalia and theTreaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.[6]
