#Christian Zuber

[moviemosaics]

Fly Me to the Moon

directed by Greg Berlanti, 2024

[boomgers]

Él quiere llegar a la luna, ella la quiere vender… “La Otra Cara De La Luna”

Esta comedia dramática, inteligente y elegante, tiene como telón de fondo el histórico alunizaje del Apolo 11 de la NASA.

Sinopsis: Chispas vuelan en todas direcciones cuando la experta en marketing Kelly Jones, contratada para arreglar la imagen pública de la NASA, causa estragos en la ya difícil tarea del director de lanzamiento, Cole Davis. Cuando la Casa Blanca considera que la misión es demasiado importante para fallar, se le ordena a Jones que organice un alunizaje falso como respaldo, y es cuando realmente la cuenta regresiva comienza.

Fechas de estreno: 11 de julio de 2024 en Cines. Posteriormente en Apple TV+.

Dirigida por Greg Berlanti y guionizada por Rose Gilroy, la película cuenta con las actuaciones de Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Nick Dillenburg, Anna Garcia, Jim Rash, Noah Robbins, Colin Woodell, Christian Zuber, Donald Elise Watkins, Ray Romano y Woody Harrelson.

[jmunneytumbler]

It Doesn't Take a Conspiracy to Figure Out What Makes 'Fly Me to the Moon' Tick

To the moon, Scarlett! (CREDIT: Dan McFadden/Columbia Pictures) Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Jim Rash, Ray Romano, Woody Harrelson, Anna Garcia, Donald Elise Watkins, Noah Robbins, Colin Wooddell, Christian Zuber, Nick Dillenburg, Joe Chrest, Art Newkirk, Ashley Kings, Jonathan Orea Lopez, Eva Pilar, Chad Crowe, Will Jacobs, Melissa Litow, Lauren Revard, Jesse Mueller Director:…

[robynsassenmyview]

Three lovers, four villains and a gullible bloke

"Three lovers, four villians and a gullible bloke", a review of the opera 'The Tales of Hoffmann' staged by Met Opera and screened by Cinema Nouveau in South Africa, on 22 October 2024.

THROWING away my music for your love. Pretty Yende is Antonia and Benjamin Bernheim is Hoffmann in the Met Opera’s wonderful production of The Tales of Hoffmann, on at Cinema Nouveau countrywide on 22 October 2024. TIGHTEN YOUR SEATBELT for a long ride of ribaldry and burlesque, beauty and disappointment with good and bad angels on the shoulders of our protagonist. This is what you can expected…

[equatorjournal]

Archipel des Galápagos, 1959. "From his one-year journey in the Galápagos Islands, Christ Zuber brought back with him a film of a lost paradise and footage of rare and endangered species, working with only 16 mm Pathé film camera and a Rolleiflex still camera." From "Return to the Galápagos: Paradise of Beasts" by Christian Zuber. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpx9SZltj34/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[movies-to-add-to-your-tbw]

Title: Fly Me to the Moon

Rating: PG-13

Director: Greg Berlanti

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Woody Harrelson, Jim Rash, Ray Romano, Nick Dillenburg, Anna Garcia, Noah Robbins, Colin Woodell, Christian Zuber, Donald Watkins, Peter Jacobson, Kyle S. Brown, Jessie Mueller, Colin Jost

Release year: 2024

Genres: romance, drama, comedy

Blurb: Sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones, brought in to fix NASA's public image, wreaks havoc on Apollo 11 launch director Cole Davis' already difficult task of putting a man on the moon. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, Kelly is directed to stage a fake moon landing as backup, and the countdown truly begins.

[popentertainment-moviereviews]

FLY ME TO THE MOON (2024)

Starring Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Jim Rash, Anna Garcia, Donald Elise Watkins, Noah Robbins, Colin Woodell, Christian Zuber, Nick Dillenburg, Ray Romano, Woody Harrelson, Bill Barrett, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Joe Chrest, Colin Jost, Greg Kriek, Art Newkirk, Peter Jacobson, Ashley Kings, Jonathan Orea Lopez, Christian Clemenson and Eva Pilar.

Screenplay by Rose Gilroy.

Directed by Greg Berlanti.

Distributed by Columbia Pictures. 132 minutes. Rated PG-13.

“Fly me to the moon / Let me play among the stars / And let me see what spring is like / On Jupiter and Mars / In other words, hold my hand / In other words, baby, kiss me.”

It would be nice if the romantic comedy Fly Me To the Moon were as simple, frisky and romantic as the song from which it took its title. Honestly, sometimes it does reach those heights, but it has too much going on plot-wise and not enough romance and comedy to keep its story airborne.

That’s a shame, because this is one of very few rom coms which will be widely released this summer. I was hoping that this film would ignite, but that only happens periodically.

Fly Me To the Moon captures a particular place and time in American history – Cape Kennedy, Florida on the eve of the 1969 Apollo 11 launch and man’s first walk on the moon. It has an interesting cast of characters – scientists, astronauts, marketing specialists, shady government agents, far right-wing politicians and egomaniacal Hollywood directors. It’s old-fashioned, and yet it has things to say about modern society as well.  

So why does Fly Me To the Moon only sometimes reach lift-off?

Simply put, because they were trying to do too much. Added into the dish like an unnecessary spice is a whole section based on the old conspiracy theory that the moon landing was a fake made on a soundstage – quite possibly by Stanley Kubrick. (I will give Fly Me To the Moon props for a clever Kubrick gag in the middle of the action.)

This not-so-little subplot does not appear in the story until about an hour into the film, and honestly, it’s an unwelcome addition. Not only has the fakes space mission storyline been done way too often on film already – from the mostly forgotten but surprisingly good 1970s thriller Capricorn One to more recent films like Moonwalkers, Dark Side of the Moon and others. Hell, it was even a quick sight gag in Minions, which may be proof positive that this story is overdone.

To be quite honest, I think Fly Me To the Moon would have worked better had they simply jettisoned that storyline and had done a straight romance around the NASA launch of Apollo 11. The faking story makes more than one of the main characters look bad on a regular basis. Sure, it does give more ammunition to Woody Harrelson playing the shadowy Nixon operative behind the scheme – and Woody is very funny here – but he was very funny well before this plot thread was introduced. They could have found more for him to do in the original narrative.

Because what Fly Me To the Moon is really about – or at least it was until the storyline took that hard right turn – was the timid romance between two very different types of people who meet working on the leadup to the launch.

The woman is Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson), a smart, flirty and somewhat cynical public relations professional who has a sketchy past and some questionable methods. She has been hired by the government to start a buzz on the space program, which is still reeling from the tragic explosion of Apollo 1 a couple of years earlier. She has the hair of an astronaut’s wife, blood red lips and the va-va-voom pants suits and capris of a pin-up girl – all of which she uses to disarm the sexist guys she always has to deal with in business.

The guy is Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), the rather humorless former-aspiring-astronaut and scientist in charge of the mission. You can tell how button-down Cole is because throughout the length of the film he wears the exact same style of shirt – just in different colors. (He also has an odd-modern looking short-but layered haircut which is far from the crew cut which someone in his position would have worn.) You can also tell that he is repressed because the first time he meets Kelly – in a local diner – he acknowledges she is the most attractive woman he has ever seen. Still, he cock-blocks himself, telling her that he can’t get involved with anyone because of bad timing and the importance of his job.

I guess we should look at the elephant in the room here. While Johansson and Tatum are both undoubtedly gorgeous, they have very little chemistry together. This is mostly on Tatum’s side – and it may not even be the actor’s fault, it may just be the role as written. Still, it is a little hard to root for a happy-ever-after for these two.

However, taking a look at the space program at the height of its importance is endlessly fascinating. Had they maintained the view at the actual space landing rather than showing the less interesting attempts to recreate it, Fly Me To the Moon may have been something special. Instead it is a fairly good movie which had the potential to be very good.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2024 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: July 12, 2024.

[salomeapologist]

oh shit forgot to do this this morning (due to the horrors). tagged by @megalomartire !!

last listened to: i love you suzanne by lou reed (21 hours not listening to music is also due to the horrors)

currently watching: i havent picked back up love between fairy and devil bc i paused it at a secondhand embarrassment part but i will get back to it soon!!

currently reading: “les noces feintes: sur quelques lectures de deux thèmes iconographiques dans les cassoni florentins” by christiane klapisch-zuber for my dissertation and hangmen by martin mcdonagh for fun

current obsession: i have to still be on cupid and psyche lockdown until sept 4 but bc of hangmen ill prob be going on about limits of humor/negative reactions to dark humor as well as the ways homophobia is reenforced in england after that! which will prob have odd effects on my gothic btvs fic. not that studying cupid and psyche and then writing a retelling of a bluebeard retelling was going to produce normal results anyway

tagging @mortisdaughter @puppethistoryyaoi @liebestode

[alexlacquemanne]

Juillet MMXXIV

Films

Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (2024) d'Alexandre de La Patellière et Matthieu Delaporte avec Pierre Niney, Bastien Bouillon, Anaïs Demoustier, Anamaria Vartolomei, Laurent Lafitte, Pierfrancesco Favino, Patrick Mille, Vassili Schneider, Julien de Saint Jean et Julie de Bona

La Jalousie (1976) de Raymond Rouleau avec Daniel Gélin, Nicole Calfan, Jacques Toja, Annick Alane, Marc Eyraud, Anna Gaylor, Françoise Pages et Francis Lemaire

Maestro(s) (2022) de Bruno Chiche avec Yvan Attal, Pierre Arditi, Miou-Miou, Pascale Arbillot, Caroline Anglade, Nils Othenin-Girard et Caterina Murino

The Truman Show (1998) de Peter Weir avec Jim Carrey, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Natascha McElhone et Holland Taylor

Un crime dans la tête (The Manchurian Candidate) (1962) de John Frankenheimer avec Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury, James Gregory, Lloyd Corrigan et Leslie Parrish

French Connection (The French Connection) (1971) de William Friedkin avec Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco, Marcel Bozzuffi et Frédéric de Pasquale

To The Moon (Fly Me to the Moon) (2024) de Greg Berlanti avec Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Nick Dillenburg, Anna Garcia, Jim Rash, Noah Robbins, Colin Woodell et Christian Zuber

Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez (1964) de Jean Girault avec Louis de Funès, Michel Galabru, Jean Lefebvre, Christian Marin, Guy Grosso, Michel Modo, Geneviève Grad, France Rumilly, Nicole Vervil et Claude Piéplu

La Marseillaise (1938) de Jean Renoir avec Pierre Renoir, Louis Jouvet, Lise Delamare, Andrex, Edmond Ardisson, Nadia Sibirskaïa, Jenny Hélia, Gaston Modot et Julien Carette

Un éléphant ça trompe énormément (1976) de Yves Robert avec Jean Rochefort, Claude Brasseur, Guy Bedos, Victor Lanoux, Danièle Delorme, Anny Duperey, Martine Sarcey et Marthe Villalonga

Le Gendarme à New York (1965) de Jean Girault avec Louis de Funès, Michel Galabru, Jean Lefebvre, Christian Marin, Guy Grosso, Michel Modo, Geneviève Grad et Alan Scott

Le Secret de Green Knowe (From Time to Time) (2009) de Julian Fellowes avec Alex Etel, Timothy Spall, Maggie Smith, Christopher Villiers, Pauline Collins, Eliza Bennett, Rachel Bell, Dominic West et Carice van Houten

Raoul Taburin (2018) de Pierre Godeau avec Benoît Poelvoorde, Édouard Baer, Suzanne Clément, Vincent Desagnat, Grégory Gadebois, Victor Assié et Timi-Joy Marbot

Nous irons tous au paradis (1977) de Yves Robert avec Jean Rochefort, Claude Brasseur, Guy Bedos, Victor Lanoux, Danièle Delorme, Marthe Villalonga, Jenny Arasse, Christophe Bourseiller et Josiane Balasko

Drôle de drame (1937) de Marcel Carné avec Françoise Rosay, Michel Simon, Louis Jouvet, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Nadine Vogel, Pierre Alcover et Jean-Louis Barrault

French Connection 2 (1975) de John Frankenheimer avec Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Bernard Fresson, Philippe Léotard, Ed Lauter, Charles Millot, Jean-Pierre Castaldi et Cathleen Nesbitt

Le Gendarme se marie (1968) de Jean Girault avec Louis de Funès, Michel Galabru, Jean Lefebvre, Christian Marin, Guy Grosso, Michel Modo, Geneviève Grad, Claude Gensac et Mario David

Totally Spies! le film (2009) de Pascal Jardin avec Claire Guyot, Fily Keita, Céline Mauge, Jean-Claude Donda, Karl Lagerfeld et Emmanuel Garijo

Séries

Maguy Saison 6

Quitte ou rouble - Séparation de survie - L'injuste prix - Une nièce rapportée - Une occase en moins - Météo et bas - Une Maude passagère - Bénévole d'essai - Tata poule - Des routes en déroute - Débat des eaux - L'ami gratteur - Pinceaux périlleux - Termite errant - Troubles de la télévision - Étrennes à la traîne - Mégarde à vue - Golf: heurts - Mépris de Rome - Le rappeur sur la ville - Jaloux y es-tu ? - Clochard abstrait - Affreux d'emploi - Un clown chasse l'autre - Adamo.. tus et bouche cousue - Passe-moi le recel - Fissures la corde raide - Écoutes que coûte - Le carton de la plaisanterie - Un fils à la patte - Mur… aïe ! - Désaccords de guitares - Une mage d'histoire - Compagnons d'alarmes - Despote au feu - Dernière cartouche au tableau - Des pots en dépôt

Affaires sensibles

17 et 18 septembre 1981 : dernière cigarette pour la guillotine - 1er février 2003, l’accident de la navette spatiale Columbia - Les Dix d’Hollywood, ou quand l’Amérique voyait rouge - Challenger 1986 : une catastrophe en plein ciel pour la fin d’un rêve "étoilé" - La tornade Michel Polac - John Lennon, mort d'un enfant du siècle - “Nous irons les buter jusque dans les chiottes” Russie, 1999, les attentats, la Tchétchénie et Poutine - Essais nucléaires dans le pacifique, un mensonge français - Péchiney : délit d'amitié, délit d'initiés

Le Coffre à Catch

#174 : William Regal champion en Angleterre? - #175 : CM Punk de retour à la ECW ! - #176 : Shelton vs Christian : un banger en préparation ! - #177 : Trent Baretta & Caylen Croft : les vrais Best Friends ! - #178 : TLC 2009 : Un Show Stealer ?

WWE : les rivalités de légende Saison 2

Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper - The Rock vs. John Cena - Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart - The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton - Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels - Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns - The Undertaker vs. Mankind - Trish Stratus vs. Lita

The Durrells : une famille anglaise à Corfou Saison 1, 2

Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3 - Episode 4 - Episode 5 - Episode 6 - Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3 - Episode 4 - Episode 5 - Episode 6

Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours

Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3

Totally Spies Saison 7

Attention : ceci n'est pas un test - Espionnes à l'ancienne - Alerte chat-pardeurs

Spectacles

Patate (1982) de Marcel Achard avec Pierre Mondy, Michel Duchaussoy, Marie Dubois, Pascale Audret, Clémentine Amouroux et Philippe Dehesdin

Imagine Dragons Chambord Live (2023)

Elvis: The Comeback Special (1968)

Nirvana: MTV Unplugged in New York (1993)

Les Pigeons (2022) de et avec Michel Leeb, et aussi Francis Huster, Chloé Lambert, Philippe Vieux

Livres

Batman : The Killing Joke d'Alan Moore et Brian Bolland

Red Skin, tome 1 : Welcome to America de Xavier Dorison et Terry Dodson

Red Skin, tome 2 : Jacky de Xavier Dorison et Terry Dodson

Le coureur et son ombre d'Olivier Haralambon

Détective Conan, tome 23 de Gôshô Aoyama

Détective Conan, tome 24 de Gôshô Aoyama

Conversations avec A d'Alex Lacquemanne

Kaamelott, tome 7 : Contre-attaque en Carmélide d'Alexandre Astier, Steven Dupré et Picksel

[zuberjournalist-blog]

Now Iran put finger over Saffron Terror of India, behind border attack.

Reported by Journalist Zuber Tehran / Islamabad Monday Jan 29, 2024 Indian Saffron Terror, its master mind Modi exposed across the world for spreading terror activities in Muslim, Christian Countries and killing of Muslims, Christians & Sikhs in India.  After Canada, America, England, Pakistan now Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Monday without naming India & Israel said…

[birdzflycom]

Tony Awards Nominations 2023: The Complete List

Img Source: https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/05/02/multimedia/02tony-noms-list2-pvkl/02tony-noms-list2-pvkl-jumbo.jpg The nominations for the 76th Tony Awards were announced on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Lea Michele, the current star of “Funny Girl” on Broadway, and Myles Frost, who won a 2022 Tony Award for his portrayal of Michael Jackson in the Broadway musical “MJ,” announced the nominations. Some categories were read live on CBS at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, and others were unveiled through a livestream on the Tony Awards YouTube page. A total of 38 shows were vying for Tonys this year. To be eligible, a Broadway show must have opened between April 29, 2022, and April 27, 2023. This year’s awards ceremony is slated for Sunday, June 11. “Some Like It Hot,” a Broadway musical version of the Billy Wilder film, picked up the most nominations of any show, with 13 in all. The musicals “& Juliet,” “New York, New York,” and “Shucked” each followed with nine nominations. Here is the complete list of nominees for the 2023 Tony Awards:

Best New Play

- “Ain’t No Mo’” - “Between Riverside and Crazy” - “Cost of Living” - “Fat Ham” - “Leopoldstadt”

Best New Musical

- “& Juliet” - “Kimberly Akimbo” - “New York, New York” - “Shucked” - “Some Like It Hot”

Best Play Revival

- “The Piano Lesson” - “A Doll’s House” - “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” - “Topdog/Underdog”

Best Musical Revival

- “Into the Woods” - “Camelot” - “Parade” - “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”

Best Leading Actor in a Play

- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, “Topdog/Underdog” - Corey Hawkins, “Topdog/Underdog” - Sean Hayes, “Good Night, Oscar” - Stephen McKinley Henderson, “Between Riverside and Crazy” - Wendell Pierce, “Death of a Salesman”

Best Leading Actress in a Play

- Jessica Chastain, “A Doll’s House” - Jodie Comer, “Prima Facie” - Jessica Hecht, “Summer, 1976” - Audra McDonald, “Ohio State Murders”

Best Leading Actress in a Musical

- Annaleigh Ashford, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” - Sara Bareilles, “Into the Woods” - Victoria Clark, “Kimberly Akimbo” - Lorna Courtney, “& Juliet” - Micaela Diamond, “Parade”

Best Leading Actor in a Musical

- Christian Borle, “Some Like It Hot” - J. Harrison Ghee, “Some Like It Hot” - Josh Groban, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” - Brian D’Arcy James, “Into the Woods” - Ben Platt, “Parade” - Colton Ryan, “New York, New York”

Best Featured Actor in a Play

- Jordan E. Cooper, “Ain’t No Mo’” - Samuel L. Jackson, “The Piano Lesson” - Arian Moayed, “A Doll’s House” - Brandon Uranowitz, “Leopold

Best Choreography Steven

- Hoggett, “New York, New York” - Molly Smith, “Camelot” - Sergio Trujillo, “& Juliet” - Casey Nicholaw, “Some Like It Hot” - Rob Ashford, “Shucked”

Best Direction of a Play Kenny Leon, “Ain’t No Mo’”

Christopher Ashley, “Leopoldstadt” Daniel Fish, “Death of a Salesman” Gregory Mosher, “Topdog/Underdog” Best Direction of a Musical Diane Paulus, “& Juliet” Michael Mayer, “New York, New York” Jerry Zaks, “Some Like It Hot” Scott Ellis, “Kimberly Akimbo” Marc Bruni, “Shucked”

Best Scenic Design of a Play Tony Cisek, “The Lifespan of a Fact”

Miriam Buether, “Leopoldstadt” Andrew Lieberman, “Between Riverside and Crazy” Mimi Lien, “Ain’t No Mo’”

Best Scenic Design of a Musical David Rockwell, “Some Like It Hot”

David Korins, “& Juliet” Derek McLane, “Shucked” David Gallo, “Kimberly Akimbo”

Best Costume Design of a Play

Linda Cho, “The Lifespan of a Fact” Catherine Zuber, “Leopoldstadt” Toni-Leslie James, “Between Riverside and Crazy” Dede M. Ayite, “Ain’t No Mo’”

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Gregg Barnes, “Some Like It Hot” Emily Rebholz, “& Juliet” William Ivey Long, “New York, New York” Paloma Young, “Shucked” Best Lighting Design of a Play Jane Cox, “Leopoldstadt” Alan C. Edwards, “Ain’t No Mo’” Japhy Weideman, “The Lifespan of a Fact” Jennifer Schriever, “Topdog/Underdog”

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Howell Binkley, “Some Like It Hot” Natasha Katz, “& Juliet” Bradley King, “Kimberly Akimbo” Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, “New York, New York”

Best Sound Design of a Play

Dan Moses Schreier, “Leopoldstadt” Steve Canyon Kennedy, “Between Riverside and Crazy” Jane Shaw, “Ain’t No Mo’” Fitz Patton, “The Lifespan of a Fact”

Best Sound Design of a Musical

Peter Hylenski, “Some Like It Hot” Jonathan Deans, “& Juliet” Dan Moses Schreier, “Shucked” Kai Harada, “Kimberly Akimbo”

Best Orchestrations

Larry Blank, “Some Like It Hot” Bill Elliott and Greg Anthony Rassen, “Kimberly Akimbo” Tom Kitt, “& Juliet” Duncan Sheik, “New York, New York” Those are the complete nominations for the 2023 Tony Awards. Fans of theater will have to wait until June 11 to find out who wins in each category. The awards ceremony is always a memorable event, celebrating the best of the best in Broadway theater.

Conclusion

The 76th Tony Awards nominations have been announced, and it's a great year for theater fans. Some Like It Hot leads the pack with 13 nominations, while & Juliet, New York, New York, and Shucked are close behind with nine each. The awards ceremony is set for June 11, so there's plenty Read the full article

[equatorjournal]

Archipel des Galápagos, 1959. "From his one-year journey in the Galápagos Islands, Christ Zuber brought back with him a film of a lost paradise and footage of rare and endangered species, working with only 16 mm Pathé film camera and a Rolleiflex still camera." From "Return to the Galápagos: Paradise of Beasts" by Christian Zuber. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpx9HQmthAJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[aroundfortwayne]

Fort Wayne Plan Commission meeting tonight - 7/19/2021

New Post has been published on https://aroundfortwayne.com/news/2021/07/19/fort-wayne-plan-commission-meeting-tonight-20210719/

Fort Wayne Plan Commission meeting tonight - 7/19/2021

The Fort Wayne Plan Commission meets this evening for their monthly business meeting.

[speakspeak]

Christian Dior’s former home Chateau De La Colle Noire featuring @Zuber wallpaper

[dwellordream]

“…For example, although it is true that death did take a dramatic toll on medieval children, families were, from the beginning of the medieval era, smaller than we had once thought. Furthermore, any thorough investigation of medieval records shows that parental love and the desire to care for children were commonplace, which disproves the preconceived idea that repeated grief estranged parents emotionally from their children.

…Engaging with medieval demography is a difficult endeavour as very few sources provide any substantial information on the rates of birth and death among humble families. Among the only archival documents that yield relatively accurate demographic data are the fourteenth- and fifteenth-century fiscal sources of Prato, Florence and other Tuscan cities, analysed in detail by David Herlihy and Christiane Klapisch-Zuber in the 1980s in their famous study Tuscans and their Families.

…In the rest of Western Europe, historians have to work with much less detailed tax records, which, when they were in fact drafted, often omitted to list young children. Other sources used by historians interested in demographic history are notarial documents, such as wills. However, it is important to note that these sources only mentioned the surviving offspring of the testator at a fixed point in time, thus only providing a snapshot of these families’ cycle of development.

Another issue with medieval demography is methodological. Dubbed “the meaningless mean,” it is widely held that averages and means can be devoid of significance if not interpreted wisely. If, in a sample of one hundred individuals, 50 of them had only one child, but that the other 50 each had six children, the average number of children per individual would be 3.5 – which none of them actually had. Nuances and careful examinations of data sets are thus essential in demography to better understand population patterns.

…Two factors have a determining impact on the size of families: fertility rates and child mortality rates. Estimates of infant and child mortality are often elusive in the Middle Ages. When they are available, they range from 30% to 50% of births, depending on the context and the socio-economic circumstances of families. Fertility patterns are even more difficult to ascertain. What is clear, however, is that both rates varied depending on a number of factors. Of these, wealth was the most important since it directly impacted the ability of individuals to properly feed their children and to have access to health practitioners. This, in turn, largely determined their fertility and life expectancy.

Wealth indeed played a role in female fertility patterns. Malnutrition and physical frailty are detrimental to women’s fertility and to their chances of having healthy pregnancies. Malnutrition for instance causes amenorrhea (an interruption in the menstrual and ovulatory cycle) and augments risks of miscarriages. The impact of wealth differences on fertility was in evidence in late medieval Tuscany, where wealthy women were more often pregnant and were fertile for a longer period of time than women of humbler means.

The richer the people then, the larger their families tended to be. In rural England, between the twelfth century and the Black Death, the average number of children who survived infancy in poor families was slightly below two. This average improved to over two surviving children in landowning peasant families, and climbed to as high as five among the wealthiest noble households. The situation was similar in the southern French diocese of Maguelone in the late Middle Ages, where peasant families had on average two living children at the time they made their wills, while wealthy families counted an average of three.

Even if medieval authors often stressed how the plague affected everyone equally, be it the young or the old, the poor or the wealthy, archaeological evidence points to the contrary. Like the COVID-19 pandemic, the plague took a larger toll on underprivileged individuals. Bioarchaeological evidence shows that malnutrition, prior infections and traumas – more common among poor families – increased risks of mortality during epidemics and famines. The poor had a shorter life expectancy than the wealthy and victims of plagues were predominantly from non-elite families. In sum, poor peasants lost far more children to the plague than wealthy merchants or aristocrats.

The Black Death may have killed the young and the old alike. But the plagues that followed the initial outbreak of 1348 took a larger toll on the young. In Sienna, Italy, children age 12 and under made up 88% of the victims buried during the 1383 plague epidemic. At the opening of the fifteenth century, underage skeletons made up almost two-thirds of the Sienese burials. In London, England, the average number of children per family dropped in the decades following the Black Death. During the plague of 1361-62, sometimes nicknamed the “plague of children,” two-thirds of the testators of the rural town of Manosque, southern France, were childless.

…Rural dwellers, even if impoverished, may have had a better chance of seeing their children reach adulthood than urban dwellers. Medieval English townspeople for one had a shorter life expectancy than villagers. Overpopulation, pollution and poor general health in cities contributed to creating an “urban pathogen load” that enhanced rates of child mortality and tended to hamper women’s fertility. This is not to say that life in rural settings was devoid of risks, but chances of survival were statistically better in the countryside.

For instance, fifteenth-century Tuscan women from the crowded city of Florence saw their fertility dwindle once they had reached their mid-twenties. Meanwhile, rural women had most of their children during their twenties and thirties. As a result, rural women had a wider window of fertility and were able to mother children in greater numbers than urban women.

Another example comes from the city of Montpellier, in southern France. There, urban peasant families of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries counted on average one surviving child — a very low number — while rural peasant families of the diocese had twice as many. This rural/urban divide is even visible in the sizes of wealthy families. The Montpellier elite had an average of two live children in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, while rural elite households had three. Wealth and place of residence thus played a central role in fertility and mortality patterns.

Family size increased during the demographic expansion of the high Middle Ages. It then stabilized in the first half of the fourteenth century before dwindling dramatically with the onset of the Black Death. Families remained small, often decimated by disease, into the first decades of the fifteenth century. They began to grow again once as the threshold for population renewal was reached by circa 1450.”

- Lucie Lamounier, “How Large were Medieval Peasant Families?”