The scabbards from the Valsgärde boat-graves are fine works of artisanship, the person who made them put many hours of work into them. It is easy to get lost in typologies and books,but one must not forget that some crafts are still being practiced to this day. Some of this knowledge is not taught in any formal school setting but is still valuable to academics seeking to deeper their understanding of history. That is why it is important to operationalize this practical and traditional knowledge when interpreting archaeological materials. In this thesis I seek to gain further knowledge by consulting an artisan when interpreting two seax scabbards and three sword scabbards from Valsgärde 7 & 8.

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’évaluer l’influence du rapport au savoir sur la diversité des pratiques tutorales mises en œuvre par les artisans maîtres d’apprentissage (MA) accueillant des apprentis de niveau V. Les pratiques tutorales sont étudiées à partir du modèle de l'activité formalisé par Leontiev (1975) et définie à partir du rapport dynamique existant entre les mobiles, les actions et les opérations qui structurent l'activité tutorale. Notre population est composée de 153 artisans-maître d'apprentissage de la région Midi-Pyrénées qui ont répondu au questionnaire « Etre maître d’apprentissage aujourd’hui » construit à l'occasion de cette recherche. A partir d’une analyse multivariée des réponses à ce questionnaire, 15 sujets représentatifs de la diversité des modes d'exercice de la fonction de maître d'apprentissage ont été sélectionnés pour une étude approfondie des liens entre rapport au savoir et pratiques tutorales, par entretiens semi-directifs de recherche A travers la mise en œuvre d’une triangulation des données, nos résultats révèlent une diversité des modes d'exercice de la fonction tutorale et des formes de rapport au savoir au sein de la population des artisans-maîtres d'apprentissage. Ils montrent que le rapport au savoir influence les modes d’exercice de la fonction tutorale par sa contribution à la construction du sens que les sujets assignent à leur activité de tuteur. Parmi l'ensemble des dimensions du rapport au savoir, le sens de l’expérience scolaire joue un rôle majeur en participant à la constitution des mobiles qui ont incité les tuteurs à s’investir dans leur fonction de maître d'apprentissage. Ainsi, cette recherche contribue à la formalisation de propositions à visées applicatives relatives à la formation et la professionnalisation des maîtres d’apprentissage et permet de repérer l’importance de l’histoire socio-familiale et du sens et de la valeur que le sujet accorde à son parcours scolaire et professionnel personnel pour expliquer l'organisation de la formation des apprentis au sein des micro-entreprises. / The objective of this thesis is to evaluate how the relations to learning of the artisans serving as Apprenticeship Masters (MA) influence the diversity of tutorial practices they implement towards level V apprentices. Tutorial practices are studied according to the activity model formalized by Leontiev (1975) and defined on the basis of the dynamic relation existing between motives, actions and operations structuring tutorial activity. The population studied consists of the 153 apprenticeship master craftsmen from the Midi-Pyrénées Region who answered the questionnaire specifically elaborated for this research, entitled “Being an Apprenticeship Master today”. Following a multi-varied analysis, 15 of them, representatives of the various modes Apprenticeship Masters have of fulfilling their function, were selected through semi-directive research interviews for an in-depth analysis of the links between relations to learning and tutorial practices. The data triangulation led to the conclusion that, among the population of Apprenticeship Master Craftsmen, there exists a great variety of both tutorial function fulfilling modes and types of relations to learning. The results also indicate that these relations influence the Masters’ tutorial function fulfilling mode as they contribute to the elaboration of the significance the Masters impart to their tutoring activity. All dimensions of their relation to learning considered, it appears that the meaning taken by the Masters’ own schooling experience plays a critical part in so far as it participates in the formation of the motives that induced them to dedicate themselves to their apprenticeship master function.This research enables to pinpoint the importance, in order to explain the diversity of tutorial practices and apprentice training organizing modes encountered in micro-businesses, of both Apprenticeship Masters’ personal socio-familial histories and the significance and value they impart to their personal school and professional itineraries; it also contributes to the formalization of proposals that aim at providing explanations, regarding the training and professionalization of Apprenticeship Masters.

Questa tesi si propone di approfondire il significato del concetto di 'artigianato' dal punto di vista di tre differenti tipologie di stakeholder: 1) Associazioni e Camere di commercio; 2) Aziende, Fornitori ed Esperti e 3) Consumatori. L’obiettivo principale di questa tesi è riassumere i più recenti sviluppi in materia di artigianato evidenziandone lo stato dell'arte e proponendo osservazioni critiche in merito al concetto stesso di artigianalità. Verranno identificati eventuali limiti e lacune concettuali sul tema dell’artigianato nonché indicati suggerimenti per la ricerca futura. Questa tesi è articolata in tre ricerche: la prima, " Artisanship: A review of the conceptualization of the “craftmanship ", impiega la content analysis per esaminare le definizioni di 'artigianato' fornite da diverse fonti tra cui Fondazioni, Associazioni, Organizzazioni Internazionali e Intergovernative e Camere di Commercio. La seconda ricerca "Crafting the craft - evidence from Italian experts" utilizza la metodologia qualitativa delle interviste semistrutturate con manager, esperti e opinion leader che gravitano nel mondo dell’artigianato. L’ultima ricerca " Understanding of the concept of “craft” – from the perspective of Italian consumers " è un'indagine finalizzata a capire le percezioni del consumatore in merito all’artigianato e le sue preferenze per i diversi tipi di prodotti artigianali. Grazie all’intrinseca interdisciplinarietà di questa tesi, che collega diverse basi teoriche e discipline come sociologia, economia, arte, filosofia e storia sociale, si cercherà di colmare le attuali lacune presenti nella ricerca sull'artigianato offrendo, così, un nuovo contributo in materia. / This thesis aims to deepen the meaning of ‘craft’ by looking at the concept from the perspective of different stakeholders, including 1) Guilds and Chambers of Commerce; 2) businesses, providers and experts and 3) consumers. The overarching purpose of this dissertation is to summarize recent developments, to highlight the state of the art and to offer some critical observations of various understandings of the concept of artisanship, in order to identify conceptual gaps and limitations and directions for future research. This dissertation includes three studies: Study 1 - “Artisanship: A review of the conceptualization of the “craftmanship” – employs content analysis to examine definitions of ‘artisanship’ provided by different sources from Craft Foundations and Associations, international and intergovernmental organizations, and European Chambers of Commerce. Study 2 – “Crafting the craft – evidence from Italian experts” is based on a qualitative methodology and includes semistructured interviews with managers and experts of artisanal products. Study 3 – “Understanding of the concept of “craft” – from the perspective of Italian consumers” is a survey aimed at investigating consumer perceptions of artisanship and preference for different types of artisanal products. By bridging different theoretical bases and disciplines, such as sociology, economics, arts, philosophy and social history, this research will offer a novel contribution and fill gaps in the research on artisanship.