René Dugas was influenced by [Pierre Duhem][1] (1861-1916), the founder of the field of the history of medieval physics. Duhem's fundamental thesis in the history of physics is known as the "continuity thesis" (cf. Hannam's [*The Genesis of Science*][2] for a semi-popular introduction) which is in contrast to what could be called Kuhn's "discontinuity or rupture thesis" of paradigm shifts. Duhem likened the history of physics to the evolution of the construction of a cathedral: a continuous, centuries-long development and refinement.

Duhem's *magnum opus* in the history of physics is:

 - Pierre Maurice Marie Duhem, *[Le système du monde: Histoire des
   doctrines cosmologiques de Platon à Copernic][3]*, 10 vols. (Paris: A.
   Hermann, 1913-1959).

Poignant excerpts are translated in:

 - Pierre Maurice Marie Duhem, *[Medieval Cosmology: Theories of
   Infinity, Place, Time, Void, and the Plurality of Worlds][4]*, ed.
   and trans. Roger Ariew (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985).

He not only reports the historical facts but also keenly interprets them from the standpoint of a modern physicist and shows how the scientists of the High Middle Ages, especially, laid the foundations of Newtonian physics.

This work influenced Dugas profoundly:

 - Pierre Duhem, *[The Origins of Statics: The Sources of Physical
   Theory][5]* (Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 1991). trans. of *[Les
   origines de la statique][6]*, 2 vol. (1905).

There's also this on the Parisian precursors of Galileo, which is planned to be translated into English:

 - Pierre Maurice Marie Duhem, *[Études sur Léonard de Vinci, ceux qu’il
   a lus et ceux qui l’ont lu][7]*, vol. 3 (*Les Précurseurs Parisiens
   de Galilée*) of 3. (Paris: A. Hermann, 1906).

  [1]: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Pierre_Maurice_Marie_Duhem.aspx#1
  [2]: http://jameshannam.com/
  [3]: https://isidore.co/calibre/browse/search?query=syst%C3%A8me%20du%20monde
  [4]: https://isidore.co/calibre/browse/book/4757
  [5]: https://isidore.co/calibre/browse/book/4320
  [6]: https://isidore.co/calibre/browse/search?query=Les%20origines%20de%20la%20statique%20vol.
  [7]: https://archive.org/details/tudessurlona03duhe