Fortified sites in the ancient counties of Vannes and Porhoët : structuration of powers and settlements in the Middle Ages (10th-13th centuries) ; L’habitat fortifié et fossoyé dans le Vannetais et le Porhoët : étude de la structuration des pouvoirs et du peuplement au Moyen Âge (Xe-XIIIe siècles)

This research aims to study the establishment process of castral networks and the impact of fortified residences on the establishment and management of new emerging feudal territories in the Middle Ages. The inventory of moated andfortified sites of the Xth to XIIIth centuries, preserved in the former counties of Vannes and Porhoët, sheds light on these questions. The involvement of the power of earls and dukes on the coast shows the affirmation of the great aristocratic manner on their territory. The emergence of new lineages is evident from the XIth century. On the sidelines of the ducalpossessions, then implanted major viscounties : the viscounty of Porhoët during the Xth century, and the viscounty of Rohan, in the XIIth century at the latest. The formation of these two great entities leads to many political realignmentsduring three centuries and it is finally the whole process of emergence of a lordship which can be perceived through the management of fortifications. The inventory also reveals the great multiplicity of moated sites in both their form and their uses. These are the residences of noble lineages that multiply from the XIIth century and have several architectural features, which are detailed here. They participate, to their scale, to management and territory network set up by the lords. Archives and archaeological documentation, completed by a mapping analysis, reveals a period of network gestation, both castraland urban, before a stabilization, starting in the late thirteenth century ; Les recherches menées ont pour but d’étudier les processus de mise en place des réseaux castraux ainsi que l’impact des résidences fortifiées sur la mise en place et la gestion des nouveaux territoires seigneuriaux émergents au Moyen Âge.L’inventaire réalisé des sites fortifiés et fossoyés des Xe-XIIIe siècles conservés dans les anciens comtés de Vannes et de Porhoët permet d’éclairer ces questions. L’investissement du pouvoir comtal puis ducal sur le littoral notamment montre ainsi les modalités d’affirmation des ...