| Summary: | In his classic 1960 description of the socialization of pupils under the French Ancien Régime, Philippe Ariès claimed that, in France, a radical change could be seen in the behaviour of adolescents from the middle of the 17 th century. Before this date, the new norms advocated in the didactic works of the humanists of the Renaissance and their successors of the Counter-Reformation had only a limited effect. By the 18 th century, however, the classroom had become a much more peaceful and well-ordered place in which the authority of the master is recognized and the students are relatively studious. The Ariès description was, however, based on limited information. This contribution confronts his vision with that arising from richer sources, that French historians have since analyzed, and from the comparison of this material with English sources.
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