Дефиниции на предреволюционното минало — старият режим и абсолютизмът във Франция
Definitions of the Pre-revolutionary Past: The Ancien Régime and Absolutism in France

Summary/Abstract: The author presents a brief analytical review of the history of the extremely popular terms Ancien Régime and absolutism. Their invention in the years of the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century was an innovation, imposed by the needs of the current political ideology and practice. Their first task was to serve the new reality. For that reason, regardless of the differences, observed at the time of their appearance, recognition and popularization, as well as in the particular phenomenon they refer to, they are very close in meaning and significance. Both Ancien Régime and absolutism, as elements of the political lexis, were used first of all to create the image of “old” France, comprising all the negative characteristics of times past, in order to describe the social organization and manner of government, which had been so repulsive to the majority of Frenchmen, that had to be destroyed. In the course of many decades the use of these terms was marked by the same hostile feelings. Almost two centuries had to pass for them to lose the greater part of their negative colouring and turn, despite the still continuing discussions about the historical significance of the revolutionary changes at the end of the 18th century, into convenient phrases used today for denoting a certain period of French history, bearer of specific characteristic features.

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