Desktop versionMobile version

Les métaux précieux en Méditerranée médiévale

 | 
Nicolas Minvielle Larousse
, 
Marie-Christine Bailly-Maitre
, 
Giovanna Bianchi

Techniques et organisation de la production

Les prospections minières

Des terrains et des princes (comté du Roussillon et duché de Bourgogne, xve siècle)

Joseph Gauthier and Catherine Verna

Abstract

There is little mention of exploration in the first mining regulations, all drafted in a context in which the importance of timing in mining operations was such that the question of the discovery of the deposit was consigned to history. However, regulatory sources provide a framework for the exploration phase as from the time the authorities aspired to issue general provisions.

This phenomenon occurred relatively late, originating in an Order issued by Charles VI in 1413 but only enforced in the second half of the century. During the same period, extensive mining exploration went on in the field, little of which resulted in the installation of sustainable mines. The authorities used various approaches towards the potential metal resources and taxes. Ranging between initiative, support and abandonment, and between caution and recklessness, the policy-makers sought the best way to integrate the fledgling mining economy.

The Roussillon County and the Duchy of Burgundy show two synchronous exploration time sequences. Both indicate the authorities’ progressive adaptation to an activity they did not initiate. Enterprise profitability assessment is often at the heart of their interventions, raising the issue of rationalization of public investment. Tracking of the different mining attempts also provides evidence of the importance of mining tradition at the institutional level, and the way in which it developed.

The HTML, PDF, ePub formats of this book are available to the users of libraries and institutions subscribing to the OpenEdition Freemium program for Books. The book can also be purchased on the sites of partner bookstores, in PDF and ePub formats, if the publisher has opted for commercial distribution. If a print edition of the book is available, links to bookstores will be displayed on this page.

Excerpt

Introduction

La prospection est un moment de l’entreprise minière difficile à percevoir pour l’historien, dans les archives comme sur le terrain. Heureuse, elle est souvent occultée par la place que prend le développement de l’exploitation. Le plus souvent, il n’en reste qu’un permis de recherche, corroboré au mieux par quelques lignes dans un registre de dépenses. Rares sont les cas qui nous permettent de connaître les acteurs des prospections et les modalités de suivi des autorités, sur le terrain. Parmi les nombreuses recherches de métaux précieux connues pour le XVe siècle1, deux dossiers documentaires synchrones offrent la possibilité exceptionnelle d’observer le temps des prospections et d’interroger la gestion princière qui les accompagne.

L’étude porte sur le duché de Bourgogne et le comté du Roussillon (Couronne d’Aragon), pour la période qui court des environs de 1420 à 1470. Dans un cas comme dans l’autre, actes notariés, permis de recherche et d’exploitation délivrés par l...

The text and other elements (illustrations, imported files) may be used under OpenEdition Books License, unless otherwise stated.

Search OpenEdition Search

You will be redirected to OpenEdition Search