| Titre | Maisons, hostels, meix. Les résidences des élites locales en Auxois (duché de Bourgogne) à la fin du Moyen Âge | |
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| Auteur | Matthieu Leguil | |
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Revue | Revue historique |
| Numéro | no 675, juillet 2015 | |
| Page | 619-646 | |
| Résumé |
À la différence des châteaux et maisons fortes, des palais urbains et des habitats paysans du Moyen Âge, depuis longtemps étudiés par les historiens et archéologues, les demeures des élites locales, c'est-à-dire des gros marchands des petites villes ou des campagnes, des officiers de justice et de finances, des clercs mariés, notaires et autres juristes, ou encore des curés ou chanoines des chapitres collégiaux, en général issus du commun, mais parfois aussi de la petite noblesse, restent davantage dans l'obscurité. L'objectif de cet article est, à partir de l'exemple du bailliage bourguignon de l'Auxois, de mieux connaître ces résidences. L'étude s'appuie prioritairement sur les sources de la pratique – comptabilités, reconnaissances de cens, enquêtes… Elle se penche d'abord sur le lexique utilisé pour désigner ces résidences, passant au crible des mots banals de la langue de la France du Nord, tels que les termes « maison », « hostel », « chez », « manoir » ou « meix », dont le sens a jusqu'ici paru tellement évident aux historiens qu'ils ne se sont guère interrogés dessus ; soigneusement examinés dans leur contexte, ces mots révèlent leur signification et leur spécificité. En ajoutant à l'exploitation des textes l'observation des monuments encore en élévation et des vestiges mis au jour par les archéologues, l'étude s'attache ensuite à exhumer les principales caractéristiques des résidences des notables en matière de localisation, de composition, d'architecture et de structuration intérieure. Elle met en particulier en évidence l'existence et l'importance de la « salle », espace commun et polyvalent, parfois support d'une activité hôtelière ; et elle souligne la prépondérance de la fonction économique et productive qui s'adosse de façon presque systématique à la résidence des notables. Source : Éditeur (via Cairn.info) |
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| Résumé anglais |
Unlike the castles and fortified houses of country nobility, the city palaces and peasants' homes of the Middle Ages that have been studied for long by historians and archaeologists, light has rarely been cast on the homes of the local elites, i.e. the important merchants from small cities and countryside, the law and finance officials, the married clergy, the notaries and other men of law, but also the priests or canons of collegiate chapters, commonly originated from the common people but sometimes also from the lower nobility. Therefore, this article aims at giving a deeper insight into these residences through the example of the Auxois bailiwick, in Burgundy.First of all the terminology used by Burgundy administrative sources will be scrutinized – recognition of cens (farms) or fief, administrative or tax enquiries, accounts, etc. – to qualify these residences. It reveals that three terms are most commonly used: “maison”, “hostel” and “chez”. These terms remain so general and so common that they don't give a precise idea of the architectural features of the buildings insofar as documentation uses them as much to designate aristocrats' residences as those of the most miserable peasants or middle classes. The concomitant use of these three different terms does not actually relate to different types of buildings but rather to semantic nuances: the word “hostel” refers to the home and its hosting function whereas “maison” relates to the notion of property. For this reason, the same building can be named by any of these two terms depending on the context. Thus these terms do not reflect the exact composition of the designated residences as they can alternatively indicate several buildings or a single place.However, by focussing on detailed descriptions and observations of still standing monuments or vestiges excavated by archaeologists, it becomes possible to overcome the vagueness of the sources regarding residences of the local elites. Indeed the sporadic use of more precise words – “manoir”, “meix”... – allows us to describe these residences as vast and complex properties combining housing and buildings for economic purposes, in particular for farming activities. In town, notables' residences, sometimes formed by the gradual annexation of neighbouring dwellings, could also support the agricultural activities, in particular in order to secure supplies, but they could also be dedicated to all sorts of activities such as trade. At last it is to be noticed that notables very often owned, in addition to their main residence, one or more “secondary” residences aimed at making their business flourish, at limiting the amount of their royal and seigniorial taxes, and serving their social ascent.Beyond the composition of the residences of local notables, the examination of their exterior appearance and interior structure conveys the willingness to distinguish oneself from common people and to assert their social superiority. The location of the residence – for example within the castle or in a town's door – could demonstrate such superiority. The features of such residences, i.e. their shapes, the extent or prestige of their dependencies as well as the building materials, also expressed a social status: the tower, the dovecot or the use of stones would tell much about the nobility of the master. As far as the interior composition of the residences is concerned, it shares a common feature with aristocratic homes, i.e. the division of space between common and private spaces. More precisely, the existence of a “reception hall” (salle), considered as a common and multipurpose room, is very frequent, to such an extent that the wealthiest Burgundy bourgeois would extensively receive guests, sometimes developing a hosting activity that would be supplement their main activities of law or finance ducal officers or trade.The present study of the residences of local elites in Burgundy reveals the intermediary status of these homes, designated by common words and located in rural and urban areas, but also characterized by their generous size and their wealthy nature in order to assert some social superiority. This study also demonstrates the importance of the economic purpose almost systematically attached to these residences. Source : Éditeur (via Cairn.info) |
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| Article en ligne | http://www.cairn.info/article.php?ID_ARTICLE=RHIS_153_0619 |
