Enjoyment and domination. Metamorphoses of nature in late medieval Europe

The last centuries of the Middle Ages marked a profound metamorphosis in the status of nature in Europe. The conditions of emergence of such a "naturalist ontology" need to be clarified, however, if historians are to avoid transforming an operative anthropological concept into a new evolutionary grand narrative. By comparing literary, artistic and philosophical works with archaeological and archival documents, we'll be looking at the relationship between cultural representations often favoured by historians for thinking about nature, and the practices of the world and nature in medieval societies that encompass and nourish these representations. Such a confrontation will provide an opportunity to deepen our analysis of the naturalization process at work in Europe. In particular, we'll be highlighting the diversity of local mechanisms, their ambivalence and their ability to coexist over the long term with other forms of relationship with the natural world.