Champs ouverts, habitudes communautaires et villages en alignements dans le nord de la Loire-Atlantique : des micro-sociétés fossilisées dans l’Ouest bocager

Abstract

Located in the north of the department of the Loire-Atlantique, the region of Châteaubriant has been considered until the second half of the twentieth century as a hedged farmland. However, in its western part, corresponding to the township of Derval, the open landscape, made up of moors and unenclosed fields divided into strips, predominated until the second half of the nineteenth century when enclosure became ubiquitous. A rural habitat, arranged in rows comprised of several dwellings called longeres, was associated with these open fields. This communal approach to exploitation survived until the third quarter of the twentieth century. A study of these rural micro-societies was necessary to document their historical significance.

Keywords

• Bretagne
• champs ouverts
• champs laniérés
• openfield
• champagne
• gaignerie