For this volume from Annales we have selected not only those articles that treat the impact of the events of a decade or the secular trends of a millenniumon the agrarian structure of France but also those that describe the peculiar combination of physical surroundings traditions habits and "tone" that give the village its special character and durability. Hence three of the eight selections treat specific villages. The essays are qualitative, despite their precision about acreages and occupations; interdisciplinary, relying heavily upon cultural anthropology and folklore; and, above all, subtle in performing the double role of describing in depth the activities and values of a restricted number of human beings and of evoking situations that reflect a timeless, human dimension--the durable.