Les couvertures du second Moyen Âge en Alsace : un état des connaissances

Abstract

In medieval Alsace, three main types of roofing materials were used in various forms and at the same time: thatch, wood and terracotta. The present contribution aims to provide an overview of the use of each of these materials. The period under consideration, from the 12th to the 16th century, is marked by several major developments, which are by no means linear in chronological and geographical terms: 1o the reappearance in the 12th-13th centuries of terracotta roofing in a landscape that had until then been largely dominated, as far as can be perceived, by thatch and wood roofing; 2o the development of the production of hollow hooked tiles, which became a permanent fixture in towns from the 14th-15th centuries onwards, to the detriment of other roofing materials; 3o a contrario, the continuation in thatched and wooden roofs in rural contexts, village and castles, far beyond the Middle Ages; 4o the appearance and unprecedented development, in the first half of the 16th century, of flat roofing tiles (to the detriment of the old hollow tiles whose production became marginal). The demonstration, based in particular on data from excavations and archaeological studies of the building, but also on the use of written and iconographic sources, will seek to specify the chronological stages of these developments and to determine the reasons for these changes.

Keywords

• Alsace
• Roofing
• thatch
• shingle
• tile
• Middle Ages