Human Nature in Rural Tuscany: An Early Modern History

Interesting Behavioral/Cultural study of Tuscany

A descriptive examination of persons-in-environment, Hanlon?s book focuses upon the behaviors of sixteenth century Tuscans living in Montefollonico. An established historian of behavior, Gregory Hanlon examines Tuscan social interaction, political activity, crime and deviance, sexuality, religion and how the economy is tied to environmental and social factors. The author utilizes an interdisciplinary approach, which is evident by his sources, in order to accomplish his behavioral study. Several social and behavioral studies focusing on deviancy, religion, sexuality and other behaviors are cited throughout his book. Likewise, Darwin?s theories regarding evolution, competition and adaptation provide the basis for his argument. Hanlon not only gives a detailed analysis of life in Montefollonico, but he also provides context by comparing the village to Montepulciano or Siena to show whether social phenomena were unique or common, rural or urban.
In his introduction, Hanlon wrestles with a question that has fragmented the field of sociology: is behavior cultural or inherited? The author asserts the latter, and in the following pages he examines the primal behavior of citizens of Montefollonico in their pursuit to survive. Certainly, the society is stratified by class, but the nobility of the village enjoy less prestige than their urban counterparts. It is an agricultural village with a widespread network of sharecropping, or what Hanlon terms ?the infeudation? of lower class farmers to wealthier noble or ecclesiastical lords. Revolutions in agricultural techniques such as promiscuous culture, which enabled farmers to grow grain and raise vineyards, olive groves and livestock, helped to lessen the effects of famines and catastrophes. Such adaptations not only provided a varied diet, but also slightly boosted economic security against total crop failure.
Survival instincts are also apparent in Hanlon?s discussion of the protective family unit and social awareness. Because the village was small, the inhabitants were well aware of the social status and morality of an individual. The author discusses crime and deviancy related to survival such as crop theft, property damage from livestock or male competition in order to secure a reproductive partner. Families maintained strict control over their daughter?s virginity, which was crucial to their marriage marketability. A common marriage pattern developed in which a young bride married an older man, and the couple immediately began trying to reproduce. However, infant mortality rates were high and at times of famine or economic distress female infanticide was extremely popular. This created increased competition for mates in the next generation.
Unfortunately, the economic situation worsened in Italy decimating entire families such as the older nobility of the village. However, the revival of Catholicism after the Council of Trent and newly established religious orders gave people much needed hope and relief. By the end of the century much had changed in Montefollonico, but at least two constants remained: social inequality and the instinctual nature of self-preservation.
Hanlon successfully combines Darwinian ideas with primary evidence to sustain his argument, but I am not certain his book is reflective of current trends in sociology. Recently, the biopsychosocial approach has become desirable in order to explain social interaction. Leading sociologists like Dennis Saleebey, Charles Zastrow and others have recently published texts emphasizing this approach on behavior which are used in colleges across the nation. I am confused as to why Hanlon, who published his book last year, only asserted the biological approach. Despite not choosing a more encompassing approach to explain Tuscan behaviors, Hanlon?s book is well-written and somewhat resembles earlier Annaliste micro-histories.