Since the Middle Ages, pastel has been widely used in regions where textiles are prosperous. Charlemagne encourages in Normandy this blue culture which does not pass in the sun or in the cold. The Norman void is of remarkable quality, passing to the XVIe century to be the best in France.
Faced with an increase in the production of Rouen sheets tinted with blue, small local production is no longer enough. Dyers and merchants must turn to the Languedoc, Albigeoise and Lauragais cultures. Blue gold arrives by thousands of bullets, piling up on the quays of the Seine before leaving for the parishes Saint-Vincent, Sainte-Croix – Saint-Ouen, Elbeuf, Darnétal, Longpaon, Saint-Léger-du-Bourg -Denis, places of dyeing.
The Rouen stage is essential. It also allows redistribution on behalf of Parisian clothiers. The port becomes a vast pastelier warehouse. Between 12 and 19% of pastel balls also go up the Seine to go towards Tours, Blois and Orléans. The viscounty of water indicates that the balls must not remain more than six weeks at the quay, under penalty of a fine.
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Jean Gobelin buys pastels in Rouen
In the holds, beside the balls, the merchants also slip boxwood shavings “to comb” which Rouen merchants are takers.
Between 1500 and 1563, Rouen received more than 29% of the production of pastel from Bordeaux, more than 693,019 bales. The city monopolizes 2/5e pastel. This fruitful trade is very supervised. Before leaving for Rouen, bills of lading are established, notarial acts, on which are noted by the master of the ship and the merchant the name of the recipient as well as the places of warehouse. Reliable people, the hosts, receive the balls. These intermediaries play an essential role in the smooth running of the trade and the redistribution of coloring plants. Over time, Italians, Castilians and Languedocians linked to southern pasteliers set up sort of counters in Rouen for better commercial control. They often acquire bourgeois rights, sometimes buy offices and diversify their businesses. Let us quote for example the Arnolfini brothers established in town in the 1570s and who in September 1571 deliver more than 3,000 balls of pastel for a man called Jean Gobelin … the payment of duties on the products collected by the farmers of the viscount of water, around 7 to 8 pounds tournaments around 1530.
A significant part of the pastel is consumed locally. In Rouen, the dry cleaners are specialized. According to the acts of tabellionage, 1541 is a year of heavy consumption with rather low prices. Most dyers buy 200-300 tournament books, an already high sum for craft structures. Dress fashion uses blue without moderation. Weavers therefore need many pastel-colored fabrics. Trade flourishes.
The trading of pastels shows the ability of Norman drapers to seek far beyond the limits of the province the raw materials necessary for their industry. He also affirms the Rouen port as the gateway to the pastel trade.
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