In 15th century, saint François de Paule is the creator of a very original Order, the austerity of the rule, the fourth wish of quadragesimal life and the religious humility distinguish sharply these newcomers of the traditional regular congregations. For François the reform is essential: he takes the shape of a revival, a return to basics and in the strict observance in the style of other regular of period.The movement is organized in provinces in saint François's death, they constitute the geographical area of the Order par excellence, the regular being independent from dioceses. Established by fifteen convents, the province of Aquitaine is one of the most sprea by the Order, it exceeds so widely the traditional borders of the Southwest.It is thus a question of demonstrating specificity of this Order in France through an innovative geographical area, the province. This context is so ideal to study the Order, his organization, its evolution and its intellectual commitment. Between the first foundation in Aquitaine, in 1503 and the Revolution, which sounds the disappearance of the Order in France, the Minims are confronted with numerous social and intellectual changes. It is a question here of defining the provincial context and to determine the reality of the evolution of a monastic Order towards a scientific Order where figures get loose in 17th century, such Emmanuel Maignan and Charles Plumier.This work answers the misunderstanding of the order of the Minims in France and more exactly in the Southwest where no study was led, either on the Minims, or more generally on the regular.
