A lot of noise about nothing? Rumors, complaints and scandals surrounding parish clergy in Gaspesie communities

This study analyses clerical correspondence at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century to shed light upon the role of complaints and rumours regarding the clergy in Gaspesie's rural communities. This research demonstrates that complaints and rumours were closely linked while jointly fulfilling two very distinct functions. In the first case, they provided the population with an instrument of control over the clergy. The parishioners, far from bring submissive to ecclesiastics, knew how to express their discontent and their aspirations. In a parallel role, different groups used complaints and rumours as a political tool to advance their interests in the conflicts and power struggles which emerged in rural parishes.