6533b7d7fe1ef96bd1268123

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Un clos…. ou des clos ? Quelques réflexions autour d'une pratique de démarcation en Côte de Nuits et Côte de Beaune

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In Burgundy, the enclosure is strongly linked to the viticulture. Nevertheless, its meaning, its origin and its history remain quite unknown. This paper proposes a survey in medieval and modern sources in order to question the chronology of the practice and its value (or values) on the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune. On the Burgundian hillside, the rhythm of enclosure appearances is discontinuous: it is marked by two major peaks, one at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, the other between the 19th and 20th centuries. Their value, their role or their symbolic potential differ a lot, although their shape and location in the landscape may be unchanged. For the Middle Ages, the historical analysis emphasizes the legal and fiscal value of a fence that extracts a piece of land from a mode of taxation or justice applied to a larger territory. After the Revolution, the fence loses its meaning but, far from disappearing, its value is revived. During the Modern period, the enclosure becomes gradually the expression of an exceptional vineyard.