Lorraine's rural architecture from the 14th century to the first half of the 16th century: from identification to chronological markers

Rural dwellings of the Middle Ages are not an outstanding feature of the heritage in the Lorraine region and have been little studied. The wars of the nineteenth end twentieth centuries explain this relative lack of interest but some surviving traces can still be analysed. This analysis allows for some conclusions as to the chronology, the changes and the permanent features of the region's rural dwellings. These elements, sometimes broadly scattered, make the identification and analysis of the original dwelling difficult. Dating criteria, of varying reliability, impose an analytical approach in which the building has to be studied in minute detail in order to identify the slightest detail of informative