Abstracts
p. 399-408
Texte intégral
Marie Christine Bailly-Maître. Medieval Mines in their Environments. Interaction, Constraints and Consequences
1Mines and metal were an essential component of the Medieval economy and society. Metal played a role in every aspect of political and economic life – in the minting of coins, equipment, arms, construction and in the ordinary objects of everyday life. The writing of the history of metals implies that they be studied from various angles. The historical, archaeological, archaeo-metric, geographic and geological aspects should be taken into account, as well as environmental and social considerations.
2Interaction with the environment can be seen in the use of various resources: wood, water and various substances. These activities have numerous consequences: landscapes and topography are modified, pathways and roads are laid. There the temporary and permanent human settlements can eventually become villages and there is pollution and modification of the soil.
3To obtain a precise picture of the way activities involving the use of metal are embedded in the environment, historians of the Middle Ages make use of written sources, archaeological data and the various disciplines of the archaeo-sciences.
Adrien Bayard. The Production, Control and Exchange of Atlantic Salt in the early Middle Ages
4The use of Atlantic Salt is mentioned in the documentary sources from the 9th century. Nevertheless, the idea is still prevalent that the salt marshes were only developed in the 11th and 12th centuries by the monks. Thus, it could be useful to question the role played by salt-producing structures in the construction and management of coastal spaces under the Franks. These are indeed mesological units in constant evolution, as demonstrated by the change in production methods between fire and solar salt over the course of the 5th century. The study of the development of salt marshes during the Carolingian period and its incorporation into the monastic domain allows us to pinpoint their mode of functioning as well as the organization and social hierarchies involved.
Nicolas Bernier. The Evolution of the Exploitation of the Fluvial Resources in the Atlantic Basin in Frankish Gaul
5In the 3rd century, Ulpian, referring to the waterways of the Roman Empire, wrote: “that nothing should be done in a public river or on its banks, that nothing should be thrown into a public river or onto its banks, that would have an adverse effect on the conditions of anchorage and navigation.” In the early Middle Ages despite the continuity in the exploitation of the fluvial resources along Antiquity lines, many fisheries and mills made their appearance along the waterways of Frankish Gaul for the better exploitation of the rivers. This was in contradiction with the above stipulation of Roman Law and led to a paradigm change. The waterway was no longer a simple vector – it had become an exploitable space whose resources were available.
6The study of the archaeological data and the written sources concerning the waterways of the Atlantic in Frankish Gaul allowed us to construct a picture of the nature of the exploitation of fluvial resources in this period.
Anaïs Blesbois. Beyond the Hortus Conclusus: Visual and Textual Figurations of the Jardin Fleuri. France, End of the 14th to the Beginning of the 16th Century
7At the end of the Middle Ages, Mary and a few other holy Virgins were often associated with representations of enclosed herb gardens. The pre-eminence of this iconography has given us the impression of an over-representation of this specific type of landscaping. They have become the medieval garden par excellence in the contemporary imagination. This has led to the common use in our time of the term hortus conclusus, in reference to the biblical Song of Songs, to describe any medieval garden. This article aims to re-examine these two pre-suppositions by analysing the evolution of the representation of enclosed herb gardens from the 12th century onwards. It shows that their figurations go well beyond the exegetical interpretation and finds a plurality of meanings and spaces hidden behind the contemporary idea of a natural environment.
Tobias Boestad. Owning a Movable Resource: Ownership and Exploitation of Fishing Waters in the Kingdom of Sweden at the End of the Middle Ages (13th-15th Centuries)
8This article looks into the modes of appropriation of “fishing waters” in medieval Sweden. This term refers to the rivers or bodies of waters that were considered good for fishing. Even though these resources were clearly marked out, their economic value depended on the availability of halieutic resources, which were movable by definition. The study of legal texts and the judgments of lagmän, give us a glimpse of complex forms of appropriation, in which individual ownership encroaches on waters owned in common, with, however, limited access to the resources by the non-owners. The periodic conflicts due to the movable nature of the fish, especially during the periods of spawning, raises the question: were the people and the royal authority aware of the limited nature of these resources and of the anthropic pressure on them at the end of the Middle Ages?
Isabelle Brettauer. The Administration of Water and Forests and Sworn Fishermen: between Management of Living Resources and Productive activity in the 14th and 15th Centuries
9In this article, it seemed worthwhile to examine the existence of a policy to protect alluvial resources, at a time when the “populous world” of the 13th century was in decline and a specific water and forests administration was gradually being put in place. Although such a preservation policy was enacted at the end of the 13th century, it was no longer updated after the Black Death. The world after 1348 still relied heavily on fish, if only for Christian festivals: accounting and judicial sources show the existence of a very active professional group of fishermen in the royal domain, generating significant income for the lords on whom they depended. Between the protection of resources and the activities of this professional group, the alluvial world was a major and as yet little-known factor in the medieval mastery of the environment.
Étienne Clouin. The Metallurgy of Iron in Brittany: Production and Interaction between Society and Environment, from the 6th to the 15th Century
10Iron, whether precious or ordinary, was a metal commonly employed by both rural and urban society in their development throughout the Middle Ages. Metallic objects have left little trace in the written sources and are rarely found in archaeological diggings. On the other hand, their primary production has indelibly marked the early landscape. This article aims at a synthesis of the knowledge available regarding the medieval steelmaking industry in the Brittany peninsula. It also looks at its impact on the natural resources, the way it affected the evolution and the use of certain areas as well as its social consequences. The author based his research on historical sources and especially took cognizance of recent discoveries in archaeology.
Margot Constans, Marthe Czerbakoff. The Development of Knowledge about Animals in the Middle Ages: The Case of Hunting Aids in Two Vernacular Treatises
11The objective of this contribution is to understand the mechanisms underlying the development of knowledge of the environment in the Middle Ages through the study of the zoological information found in hunting treatises in vernacular. Two treatises are compared: The Roman dels auzels cassadors in Occitan and the treatise from Book iv of the Libro de los animals que cazanin in Castilian. We find here a common approach to animals despite the linguistic, formal and thematic differences that are characteristic of this textual tradition. The examination of the classification of hunting aids and subsequently, of the strategies employed in the identification of the best animal, reveal an eminently practical type of knowledge, based both on bookish tradition and empirical knowledge of nature.
Juliette Dumasy-Rabineau. Cartography and the Environment at the end of the Middle Ages: Is there a Movement from the Exploitation to the Preservation of Natural Resources?
12Old maps can often be an excellent source for the study of the relationship between the environment and society. Those that were made during a conflict or a court hearing are particularly interesting for they list, often in great detail, the resources and the characteristics of the land in dispute. These maps, of which many can be found in England, France and Italy, date from the 15th century and often refer to areas rich in specific natural resources such as humid zones, forests and pastures. This over-representation is explicable when we think of the harsh nature of the conflicts, endemic to the exploitation of these types of milieu. But, going beyond the obvious, these maps reveal a certain consciousness of the fragility of the areas exposed to the vicissitudes of nature and a sensitivity to over-exploitation as well as the sense that there was the will to guard against this kind of damage.
Mathieu Eychenne. When the Historian Peers at the Sky. Observations and descriptions of Climatic Conditions in Damascus by Ibn Ḥiǧǧī (End of the 14th-beginning of the 15th Century)
13Damascus in the Middle Ages needed a constant water supply. The agricultural areas in the Ghouta, around the city depended on it for its irrigation. An essential part of their water reserves came from the runoff of rainwater and the melting of snow from the mountains near the city. These waters flowed into the only permanent river in the region, the Nahr Baradā. It subsequently fed a sophisticated system of irrigation canals. The chronicle of the Damascene historian, Ibn Ḥiǧǧī (died 1416), written at the end of the 14th century, contains detailed and regular reports on the climatic conditions of the period with precise descriptions of the various meteorological phenomena, especially rain and snowfall in the Damascus area. This article is the first to mention this chronicle and is thus a significant contribution to the history of the environment of the Medieval Middle East.
Lucie Galano. The “Lagoon Lands”: Extraction and Exploitation of Plant Matter in the Area Surrounding the Lagoon in Eastern Lower Languedoc in the Middle Ages (12th-15th Centuries)
14This article explores several aspects of the exploitation of the plant life found in the area surrounding the lagoon in Lower Languedoc between the 12th and the 15th centuries. In order to establish the environmental context and practices that were in place, we need to consider the specific nature of the milieu of the lagoon as well as the plant species found there. Some of these practices can no longer be determined, as we no longer have the context of how they were applied. Some of them can be seen as tending towards professionalism – the plant resources were made use of by craftsmen who also built housing. Various levels of anthropization of the lagoon shores can be discerned, for example in the organization into plots which reserved space for plants whose exploitation facilitated the habitability of the area.
Adam Izdebski. Did the Agro-Ecosystems of the End of the Ancient World Survive the Eastern Roman Empire?
15The Roman Empire of the East managed to survive despite the arrival on the scene of the Persians and the Arabs in the 7th century. If, in the Byzantine period of the Middle Ages the political and economic situation underwent inevitable changes, nevertheless we can see emerging from the paleo-ecological data a surprizing continuity in some regions of the empire. The structure of the landscape and the exploitation of the environment were still largely similar to what they were at the end of the period of Antiquity (4th-6th centuries). It seems that in several key regions, the agro-ecosystems (i.e. the ecosystems created by man’s agricultural activity) continued to function, sometimes for several centuries undisturbed by the Arab or Persian presence. The aim here is to review these data in order to evaluate the degree of socio-ecological continuity between the end of Antiquity and the Byzantine period as well as taking note of the changes that occurred.
Claire Judde de Larivière. Between Silting up and Pollution: The Venetian Lagoon under Threat at the end of the Middle Ages
16In the 15th century, the “natural” silting up of the lagoon together with the fact that the Venetians threw waste and rubble into the canals brought about a situation that was a serious threat to the viability and the exploitation of the Venetian waters. The inhabitants and the administration identified and named these dangers in various ways. It is necessary to highlight the different factors that were the source of these phenomena, both in their entirety and in their complementarity, as well as the solutions that were devised. The question then that comes to mind is to determine whether the phenomena in question could be considered as part of the category of “pollution”. To answer this question, we must examine the historicity of this category, in particular in the context of the end of the Middle Ages.
Arnaud Lestremau. From Ely to Elysium: From the Fenland Hell to the Monk’s Paradise
17The Fenland is a region of England situated in the counties of Cambridge and Lincoln. Though a marginal area as far as the centres of power were concerned, the Fenland came under a period of intense appropriation and economic exploitation with the arrival of important monasteries like Ely and Peterborough from the 7th and 8th centuries. This article aims at a comprehension of the constraints of this space. Made up of low plains with rivers, the Fenland is covered in ponds and marshland. This makes human movement and settlement particularly difficult. Furthermore, the omnipresence of stagnant water is the cause of a multitude of diseases. From the many local sources, we have shed light on the difficulties that were encountered in the Fenland, the representations thereof and the solutions put into play by the inhabitants.
Simon Rozanès. Ad custodiendum cuniculos. The Environment Seen through the Prism of the Political Communities in the Lower Valley of the Rhône (from the middle of the 13th to the beginning of the 15th Centuries)
18The Lower Rhône Valley was characterized by the development of a rich community life from the 13th century. Though without political autonomy these communities undertook to regulate their relationship with the environment, mainly through the promulgation of community legislation. We study here how the forms of political organization constructed by the inhabitants are modified and adapted to the environment as well as the way the environment is perceived and appropriated with its usages and social practices. The communities were directly involved in the management of water resources, waste and garbage, domestic animals, vegetation, wine growing and even hunting. Reading between the lines, we see a picture emerging of the political and social issues at stake at the precise point where property and power intersect.
Lisa Shindo, Françoise Blondel, Vincent Labbas. Reconstructing the Interactions between Medieval Society and Mountain Forests: A Dendro-Chronological Approach
19One way that historical research has employed to decode rural mountain societies is through dendro-chronology. This discipline allows us to examine questions regarding the management, the origins and the exploitation of the forests. In the last forty years there have been dendro-chronological studies of wood taken from archaeological digs in the mountains of the Southern half of France as well as in the bordering areas.
20The main objective of the dendro-chronological approach is to date the wood by establishing the sedimentary and sub-aquatic context. The data thus procured opens up new perspectives which allow us to understand and recreate the early forest landscapes and to apprehend the impact of humanity on the environment.
Mathias Tranchant. Medieval Ports: Artefacts of the Transformation of the French Atlantic Seaboard
21While the seaboard environment underwent discernible evolution, the port areas had to be adapted according to the economic and political needs of their users and of the overseeing authorities. If the port was used mainly for stopovers and transhipment with infrequent traffic, it was out of the question to engage in costly construction. Furthermore, these areas would be abandoned for more promising sites. On the other hand, any site where a great deal of activity took place on a solid and permanent basis would draw substantial investment which would lead to considerable transformations. Basing our work on a documentary corpus from 612 port sites of the French Atlantic Seaboard, our article envisages the idea of seeing them as artefacts. These artefacts can offer us a glimpse of the environmental history of the society living on the coast as well the history of the coastal environment in the second half of the Middle Ages.
Emmanuelle Vagnon. The Nature of the Greek Islands. Environment and Geographic Description in the Liber Insularum of Cristoforo Buondelmonti (15th Century)
22Cristoforo Buondelmonti (circa 1380–1430) is the author of the Book of Isles of the Archipelago, which created the literary genre of the book of isles, isolario or insular, which were illustrated with little maps. His descriptions of the Greek Islands reveal all kinds of details on the geographic, climatic and geological conditions of these islands. There are also facts about agriculture, mines and the volcanic nature of the island of Santorini as well as medical tips. As part of the renewal of the history of the environment, which takes into account the details of geographic descriptions and the maps that go with them, this article examines Buonodelmonti’s remarks in order to understand his conception of the islands as a natural space which interacts with its inhabitants and his view of their history from the period of Antiquity until his own time.
Jennifer Vanz. Representations of the Saharan arid spaces of Touat and social order in the Maghreb of the 8th (H)/14th (AD) century
23In the Maghreb the 8th (H)/14th (AD) century is characterized by reconfiguration of political rapports de force between the Arab tribes and the sultans as well as by demographic and environmental dynamics. It is during this period that Touat region emerged in the historiographical sources from the Maghreb, allowing us to apprehend how this space was perceived and represented. Despite the methodological difficulties inherent in the study of the interactions between men and their milieu, it is nevertheless possible to show the how Touat was represented in an ambivalent manner; it was seen as both hostile and anthropized. At the same time, the texts allow us a glimpse of the competition that took place between various social groups for the control and exploitation of Touat as well as their capacity for adaptation to the various transformations the social order underwent during the the 8th (H)/14th (AD) century.
Charles Viaut. From the Fish Pond to the Great Hall: For an Environmental Reading of the Castral Phenomenon
24This article is a synthesis of research into the complex rapports between castral sites and their environments. From this we learn a great deal of things. Firstly, the evaluation of the contribution to the food supply of non-agricultural elements allows us to recognize the diversity of food sources that varied with geography and wealth. Furthermore, it is necessary to reconsider the role played by the aristocratic habitat in the construction of artificial landscapes not allocated to agriculture. In fact, the castles were essential to the constitution and the preservation of the forests and hydraulic landscapes. It is, furthermore, likely that the choice of a site for a castle was often determined by close access to certain natural food sources, at least in the early stages of the phenomenon. With these elements in hand, we have the means to achieve an environmental reading of the medieval castle, showing how its presence moulded the environment and its landscapes throughout the Middle Ages.
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