Moulin de Daudet
Full details
| English title | Daudet mill |
| Authors & editors | |
| Languages | French (main text) |
| Medium | Book |
| Edition | 1 |
| Topics | |
| Tags | |
| Scope & content | Summary Translation A history of Daudet Mill, named after the French short-story writer and novelist Alphonse Daudet, who lived and worked in a mill in Fontveille. The first chapter discusses the installation of the mill. A chapter on the ‘birth of wind mills’ from their origins in Rome; discuses aqueducts and their role in the Alpilles- the water is channelled through a hillside and takes advantage of the downslope- creating the infrastructures. Discusses grinding, and harvesting grain and the traditional methods. The end of the twelfth century is the best place to look for the technique that we know the most. Windmills first made their real appearance at the end of the Crusades in around 1180. Upon their return, the crusaders constructed mills in the style they had seen in Sarasin in the Middle East. These buildings were the property of the soldiers or religious people, e.g. bishops etc. They became centres for creating new revenues. Looks at the Moulin Saint-Pierre ou Ribet- named after its last owner, became the windmill that Alphonse Daudet, without a doubt, constructed around the time of the changes that followed the revolution. It crushed/ or ground grain for over a century from 1814-1915, and witnessed the decline of the miller. Gives descriptions of the inside and outside of the buildings, including photographs and diagrams. Discusses the mill workers in the countryside; how the mill impacted their lives. Includes a section on the Alphonse Daudet museum- which occupies the basement of the mill- the old grain stores. Gives a description of the museum, and gives information on Alphonse Daudet’s life. Includes an extract from one of Alphonse Daudet’s (French novelist) books, entitled Le Secret du Maître Cornille, (Maître Cornille’s Secret) which tells the story of a windmill and its owner. The owner had been working with grain for approximately 60 years. The mill he works at is the last remaining wind mill after a steam mill was installed in the area. People in the village bring grain to the mill. |
Copies held
Accession no. 229213
- Shelf location: C111
- Donor: Ken Major Collection
- Advance notice required to view in person