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Humanity's footsteps. Season 1 Episode 14 The Frankish Peasant / directed by Agnès Molia and Nathalie Laville.
Sur nos traces : die spur du steine Le paysen Franc réalise per regie Agnès Molia & Nathalie Laville.
- Format:
- Video
- Language:
- English
- French
- Subjects (All):
- Agriculture--France--5th to 10th century.
- Agriculture.
- France--History--5th to 10th century.
- France.
- Genre:
- Documentary films.
- Feature films.
- Nonfiction films.
- Documentary film.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (1 video file (26 minutes)) : sound, color
- Place of Publication:
- [Eugene, Oregon] : Heritage Broadcasting Service, [2012]
- Language Note:
- In French with English subtitles.
- System Details:
- digital
- Summary:
- In the early Middle Ages, more than 90 percent of western Europeans were rural. Historians have long described populations living in an unstable habitat within an impoverished countryside, but archaeologists now have overturned this image. In the 1990s, French archaeological excavations began spanning large areas and involving paleo-environmental investigations, revealing much more knowledgeable peasants than expected. They lived in spacious, comfortable farms rather than small, dilapidated wooden cabins. Instead of using stone, they made houses of earth, wood and thatch, which supplied both solidity and insulation. Gone was the intensive, soil-exhausting slave-cultivation of Roman times. These farmers used their knowledge to practice more sustainable agriculture. They adapted their agricultural practices to their natural environment and developed agricultural tools better suited to the land. They sought to preserve the soil and to balance plant cultivation with animal breeding. Their agrarian practices wielded an excellent and deep practical knowledge of nature.
- Notes:
- Description based on online resource; title from title screen (viewed on July 10, 2025).
- Access Restriction:
- Restricted for use by site license.
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