Les Dessous des Métiers : secret, rites et sous-traitance dans la France du XVIIIe siècle

Anne-Françoise Garçon (1)

1 CH2ST - Centre d'Histoire des Sciences et d'Histoire des Techniques

Following Diderot's article "Art" of the Encyclopedia, secrecy is frequently related to guilds, meaning monopolizing practices and "routine". Hence, an obstacle to innovation. Can we, however, consider secrecy exclusively in this negative way ? Mining and metallurgy studies brought us another perspective, showing how secret has also allowed technical exchanges between craftsmen and, consequently, technical openness. From this point of view, it seemed interesting to look at the urban crafstmen' practices, the so-called "Metiers jurés". A micro-historical study of guilds in a little town of the mid eighteenth century France has offered a quite changing scene. As a background, there was the very ritualistic practise of "chef d'oeuvre", including in its central phase, the confinement of the candidate. Thus secrecy was qualifying. The both ritual and chef d'oeuvre moved, but the ritual moved more slowly than its content. Thus secrecy became pure dissimulation, allowing forbidden practises like subcontracting, which was strongly increasing.

A partir des archives du tribunal de police de Rennes dans le milieu du XVIIIe siècle, cet article explore les pratiques liées du secret et du chef-d'oeuvre dans les Métiers jurés. L'évolution est nette, dans cette ville riche et remuante, d'une fonction cognitive qui fut sans doute première, vers un usage purement social.

Mots clés: History of Technology; <br />Sociology of Innovation<br />Guilds; technical openness; <br />XVIIIth century

Mots clés: Histoire des Technique; <br />chef-d'oeuvre; artisanat<br />XVIIIe siècle; France

Domaines: Histoire, Philosophie et Sociologie des sciences; Histoire; Sociologie

Anne-Françoise Garçon. Les Dessous des Métiers : secret, rites et sous-traitance dans la France du XVIIIe siècle. 2005. ⟨halshs-00003854⟩