Breton ballads singing tales of crime and justice have been collected by ethnographers since the nineteenth century. These songs refer to a number of episodes of crime and violence that took place during the ancien régime. Composed shortly after the events they describe, they were passed on by families and communities over centuries, almost exclusively in oral culture, since printed broadsheets of these songs were not produced in the early modern period. The Breton ballads give privileged access to the omnipresent sonic element of early modern culture, since singing leaves few traces in the written and visual sources typically studied by researchers. Comparing the ballads with documents from the criminal archives concerning the same or similar cases reveals how communities maintain, adapt, and transmit the memory of current events and crime. These songs, shaped by a desire to preserve faithfully the details of local historical events and a need to adapt their storytelling to the poetic demands of the genre, give great insight into the customs and mentalities of the communities that performed them and passed them on through the generations, especially concerning questions of justice and morality. Studying these songs demonstrates from a methodological point of view the importance of comparing oral and written sources in order to better understand early modern society and culture.

中文翻译：

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早期现代正义与口头传统：布列塔尼民谣中的犯罪与惩罚

自19世纪以来，民族志学家就收集了布列塔尼民谣关于犯罪和正义的故事。这些歌曲引用了古代统治时期发生的许多犯罪和暴力事件。在他们描述的事件之后不久，它们就被家庭和社区传承了几个世纪，几乎完全是在口头文化中进行的，因为这些歌曲的印刷版大片不是在近代早期制作的。布列塔尼民谣使人们可以特权地使用早期现代文化中无所不在的声音元素，因为唱歌在研究人员通常研究的书面和视觉资源中几乎没有痕迹。将民谣与来自相同或相似案件的犯罪档案中的文件进行比较，可以发现社区如何维护，适应和传播对时事和犯罪的记忆。这些歌曲的形成是希望忠实地保留当地历史事件的细节，并需要根据其诗意的要求调整其故事叙述，从而深刻理解了表演并传递给他们的社区的习俗和心态。几代人，尤其是在正义和道德问题上。从方法论的角度研究这些歌曲可以证明比较口头和书面资料对更好地理解早期现代社会和文化的重要性。特别是关于正义和道德的问题。从方法论的角度研究这些歌曲可以证明比较口头和书面资料对更好地理解早期现代社会和文化的重要性。特别是关于正义和道德的问题。从方法论的角度研究这些歌曲可以证明比较口头和书面资料对更好地理解早期现代社会和文化的重要性。