Madeleine Foisil (1925–2016)

Madeleine Foisil was born in Isigny-le-Buat, Normandy, France. She became an historian specializing in French history of the 17th century. As a researcher of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), she was an assistant to Prof. Victor-Lucien Tapié and then to Prof. Pierre Chaunu at the Sorbonne at the Center for Research on the Civilization of Modern Europe. She earned her doctorate in 1966 with a thesis, supervised by Prof. Roland Mousnier, on the Revolt of the Nu-pieds of 1639 in Normandy. It was published to largely positive reviews in 1970. In 1981, Madame Foisil published a study of the Norman nobleman and memoirist Gilles de Gouberville, based on the diary that he kept for years. In 1986, Madame Foisil called the chapter she wrote for volume 3 of the History of Private Life, edited by Philippe Ariès and Georges Duby, "L'écriture du for privé" (The Writing of the Private Forum), a phrase that other historians took up to designate a type of source, the books of reason, personal diaries and other texts of self-writing. Madame Foisil prepared the critical edition of the journal of the 17th century royal doctor Jean Héroard, published in 1989. This publication shed light on the unique sources provided by the diary, which was subsequently the subject of many other studies. In 2004, she published a book called Women of Character of the 17th Century, which was hailed as opening new perspectives on women’s history. She was the editorial secretary of the journal Histoire, économie et société from its inception in 1982.