I don't like databases. They are just making the sites slow and less secure. Also some hosting packages limits # of databases and charge more when you need more databases. In fact I like static sites. But 100% static sites are not really useful. They can be a nightmare for you when you need to change a small repetitive code (eg, analytics code) Because of that, sites have to be a little bit dynamic with "require" or "include" php codes. But still, databases are not really needed for a few dynamic feature. For me, search function, rss/atom feeds, pinging, ping backs, posting via email and similar wordpress/CMS features are completely unnecessary and even those functions should be removed immediately. If you know and used such a php script please share. It would be great if you know something mobile friendly. Thanks.
http://getkirby.com/ http://statamic.com/ http://www.cmsimple.org/en/ http://get-simple.info/ http://pulsecms.com/ There are a bunch really. Nigel
https://www.dokuwiki.org/dokuwiki is a great platform that I used on an old project. Fast, reliable, and even has some basic text formatting options.
http://www.queness.com/post/14579/6-lightweight-flexible-php-cms this should answer all your queries & guide you choose one
You may check the following options, http://www.cmsimple.org/en/ http://get-simple.info/ http://www.nconsulting.ca/nc-cms/ http://www.zimplit.com/index.html These are some of Free to use, database free CMS options.
Very few sites need more than one database - and a database can have a virtually unlimited number of tables and those tables can get really big. I reckon you should reexamine your reasons to take a mighty step backwards in terms of giving people the user experience they expect - then again, maybe they'll like the bare bones approach, only you know your market and your business strategy.
Try cloudcannon.com. It adds includes in with HTML comments so you can have the best of static and dynamic sites