Immigrants,Citizenship and Social Integration in French Urban Society in the Late Middle Ages:A Case Study of Avignon

An important feature of the urban demographic structure in France in the late Middle Ages was the significant increase in immigrants as a proportion of the population.The influx of immigrants and their successful assimilation were necessary for urban society to cope with the crisis of the late Middle Ages.There were two principal pathways for integration.Firstly,the municipal authority granted citizenship to some selected immigrants,accepting them legally into the citizen community.Secondly,immigrants constructed spontaneous and autonomously diversified social relationships and interacted with other residents through religious-based confraternities.The two routes were mutually complimentary and promoted the absorption of multiple immigrants into urban society achieving a revival in early modern times.That said,social participation was the only way for all immigrants to integrate into urban society and reveals the initiative and autonomy of the newcomers.