Broom Fabric (17th–19th Centuries)

From time to time, wild-growing Spanish broom has been cultivated on account of its fibers, which could be used to make a rough fabric. The cadastral and notarial archives of the Lodeve area show that the plant was still rare at the beginning of the 17th century, when plowing was the dominant practice, and that it began to spread when the extent of fallow land increased. However, it was only in the 19th century that Spanish broom gained a massive presence, which gave rise to new agricultural practices. Peasants not only exploited the plant for making textiles and used the broom fields for pastoral purposes but also cultivated Spanish broom to fertilize and prepare the soil for the seeding of cereals. Thus, the study of broom and its various uses increases our understanding of the relationship between rural society and the rural landscape of the Languedoc region.