INNOVATION AND METALLURGY IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN AREA (13th-15th CENTURIES)

After a definition of technical innovation in the Middle Ages and it's relationship to industry, this paper explores it's characteristics in the field of iron and silver (silver-bearing lead and copper) metallurgy from the 13th to the 15th centuries in the western Mediterranean area. The exploration opens with a synthesis of the circulation of iron and steel products, with special care taken over the definition of their respective qualities, in particular the distinction between iron and steel; the exploration continues with an introduction to specific technical territories related to industrial "districts", which allows the author to present the study of the circulation of technical knowledge. The paper concludes with a study of notables (Catalan in particular) as rural entrepreneurs who invested in the technical innovation of their time.