English seigniorial agriculture, 1250-1450 / Bruce M.S. Campbell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Campbell, B. M. S.

Series:

Cambridge studies in historical geography ; 31.

Cambridge studies in historical geography ; 31

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Agriculture--England--History.

Agriculture.

Agriculture--Economic aspects.

History.

England.

Agriculture--Economic aspects--England--History.

Middle Ages.

Fiefs--England.

Great Britain--History--To 1485.

England--Economic conditions--1066-1485.

Local Subjects:

Fiefs--England.

Great Britain--History--To 1485.

England--Economic conditions--1066-1485.

Physical Description:

xxvi, 517 pages : illustrations, maps (some color) ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Contents:

Weights, measures, values, and boundaries xxv

1 Introduction: agriculture and the late-medieval English economy 1

1.1 The seigniorial and non-seigniorial sectors 1

1.2 The changing economic context of agricultural production 3

1.3 Strategies for raising (and reducing) agricultural output 10

1.4 Risks, dilemmas, and debates 16

2 Sources, databases, and typologies 26

2.11 Manorial accounts 26

2.12 IPM extents 37

2.13 Other sources 40

2.2 Methods and databases 41

2.21 Approaches to the analysis of demesnes, estates, and regions 41

2.22 The databases 46

3 The scale and composition of the seigniorial sector 55

3.1 The seigniorial share of agricultural output and land-use 55

3.2 The scale and composition of estates 60

3.3 The scale and composition of demesnes 63

3.31 Aggregate value 63

3.32 Arable land-use 67

3.33 Pastoral land-uses 71

3.34 Arable versus pasturage 85

3.35 The relative unit values of grassland and arable 89

3.4 Demesne land-use combinations and their geography 94

4 Seigniorial pastoral production 102

4.1 Types of pastoral husbandry 103

4.2 Working animals 120

4.21 Draught-horses 123

4.22 Draught-oxen 131

4.23 Working animals in perspective 133

4.3 Non-working animals 134

4.31 Breeding replacement draught beasts 135

4.32 Cattle-based dairying 143

4.33 Sheep 151

4.34 Swine 165

4.35 Non-working animals in perspective 169

4.4 Animals versus crops 171

4.41 Stocking densities and farming systems 172

4.42 The relative contributions of crops and livestock to gross revenues 183

5 Seigniorial arable production 188

5.1 The objectives of production 189

5.11 Sustainability 189

5.12 Consumption 193

5.13 Exchange 203

5.2 The principal field crops and their attributes 213

5.21 Wheat 214

5.22 Rye 219

5.23 Winter mixtures 221

5.24 Barley 222

5.25 Oats 224

5.26 Spring mixtures 226

5.27 Grain-legume mixtures 227

5.28 Legumes 228

5.29 Winter- versus spring-sown crops 230

5.3 Trends in cropping, 1250-1449 231

5.31 The scale of cultivation 232

5.32 Bread grains 238

5.33 Brewing grains 243

5.34 Pottage and fodder crops 245

5.35 Net change 247

6 Crop specialisation and cropping systems 249

6.1 Seigniorial cropping systems, 1250-1349 250

6.11 Individual cropping systems 250

6.12 The overall configuration of cropping systems pre-1350 273

6.2 Seigniorial cropping systems, 1350-1449 275

6.21 Individual cropping systems 276

6.22 The overall configuration of cropping systems post-1349 301

6.3 Crop specialisation and commercialisation 303

7 Arable productivity 306

7.1 Productivity as an issue 306

7.2 Crop yields 309

7.21 Seeding rates 309

7.22 Yields per seed 315

7.23 Yields per unit area 326

7.3 Unit land values 347

7.31 Unit land values as recorded in the IPMs 350

7.32 Grain prices and land values 355

7.33 Production costs and the annual net value of land 356

7.4 Temporal trends 364

7.41 Harvest reliability 364

7.42 Trends in unit land values 367

7.43 Trends in yields of individual crops 370

7.44 Trends in weighted aggregate grain yields 375

8 Grain output and population: a conundrum 386

8.1 Total grain output 386

8.2 Total kilocalorie output 396

8.3 The total population capable of being fed 399

8.4 Grain output, population, and GDP 406

9 Adapting to change: English seigniorial agriculture 1250-1450 411

9.1 Agriculture before the Black Death: constraints versus incentives 411

9.11 Supply-side constraints 414

9.12 Demand-side incentives 424

9.2 Agriculture after the Black Death: adapting to a major demand-side shock 430

9.3 The medieval antecedents of English agricultural progress 436

Appendix 1 Demesne-level classification of husbandry types 441

Appendix 2 Demesnes represented in the Norfolk accounts database 453

Appendix 3 Demesnes represented in the FTC accounts databases 467.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 471-496) and index.

ISBN:

0521304121

OCLC:

41885695