L'automne horticole du Moyen Age, permanences médiévales dans les traités de jardinage de la première modernité (1486-1652).

Abstract

This paper examines medieval mental and technical permanencies in French horticultural treatises published between the end of the XVth centuty and the 1650’ s. Until the 1560’ s, gardening treatises testify to a vivid unitary vision of the world where everything is possible, where an extremely good knowledge of the art of grafting does coexist with the most extravagant grafts. This rationality begins to falter during the second half of the XVIth century. Yet, it’s only in the 1650’ s that we witness the arrival of a new generation of horticultural treatises. The rupture is then obvious, concerning mentalities - magic and supernatural are banned from serious horticultural literature -as well as techniques thanks to theorization and improvement of fructification grafting and increased selection of fruit varieties.