ABSTRACT
The historians of the sixteenth century, at any rate those concerned with southern Europe, seem to be characterized by a highly sensational approach to their subject. This was a century of expansion in every field, of great adventures, of enormous wealth, and so could not fail to have been the scene also of a great demographic advance. The seasonal movement of births almost always confirms the notion of the predominant influence of spring, the classic season of love, which brings natural consequences. It is even possible to amuse oneself by tracing the progress of spring from the south to the north, from Languedoc to the Beauvais region. The more one progresses with the investigation of French population problems, the more they appear complex and dissimilar. It is true that historians and demographers are gradually becoming aware of how modest their knowledge is and how fragile their hypotheses.
