Innovations et métallurgies en méditerranée occidentale (xiii e-xv e siècles)

Abstract

After a def nition of technical innovation in the Middle Ages and it's relationship to industry, this paper explores it's characteristics in the fi eld of iron and silver (silver-bearing lead and copper) metallurgy from the 13 th to the 15 th centuries in the western Mediterranean area. The exploration opens with a synthesis of the circulation of iron and steel products, with special care taken over the def nition of their respective qualities, in particular the distinction between iron and steel; the exploration continues with an introduction to specifi c technical territories related to industrial "districts", which allows the author to present the study of the circulation of technical knowledge. The paper concludes with a study of notables (Catalan in particular) as rural entrepreneurs who invested in the technical innovation of their time.