The Decline of the Cow: Agricultural and Settlement Change in Early Medieval Ireland
This article considers cows and dairying as the basis of value system in early societies, particularly in Ireland.
The Rabbit and the Medieval East Anglian Economy
The rabbit was a rare beast in medieval England, and much sought after for both its meat and its fur.
The North Italian Cotton Industry 1200-1800
The versatility of cotton and its adaptability to a wide range of climatic conditions ensured a steady demand among urban and rural consumers linked by extensive commercial networks.
Modernization of the Government: the Advent of Philip the Good in Holland
As I have shown elsewhere, the county of Holland underwent a structural change in the second half of the fourteenth century, when economically the emphasis shifted from agriculture to trade and industry and demographically from the country to the towns. The institutions however did not change.
The cost of enclosure and the benefits of convertible husbandry among peasant holdings in medieval England
The present paper will attempt to address these issues and outline the attitudes of the peasantry in regard to the potential of enclosing land and adopting convertible husbandry.
The Prince, the Park, and the Prey: Hunting in and around Milan in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries
Cristina Arrigoni-Martelli of York University examines the efforts made by the Dukes of Milan during the later Middle Ages to take part in one of the most popular activities of European aristocrats – hunting.
The Infrastructure of the Novgorodian Fur Trade in the Pre-Mongol Era (ca. 900-ca. 1240)
The urge to find additional supplies of pelts and better-quality furs drove not only the Novgorodian traders and tribute collectors to cross the Urals during the Middle Ages, but later the Muscovites to colonize Siberia and even later the Russian Empire to explore and establish control over the Russian Far East and Alaska.
A Hotbed for Dissidence: Southeast England in the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381
What were the causes and circumstances that led not only to the ebullient revolt in Southeast Europe, but also to ist relative success?
Writing Land in Anglo-Saxon England
In using writing as a means to contain dispute over time, the Anglo-Saxons repeatedly inscribed the troubling evidence of past dispute and anticipated loss into their thinking about land.
Great Sites: Hamwic
Helena Hamerow on excavations at Southampton, which reshaped our views of the origins of English towns and of long-distance trade in the 8th/9th centuries.
The Cost of Capital and Medieval Agricultural Technique
A major purpose of this paper is to consider the consequences of high medieval interest rates on wages and production techniques. It is argued that the high capital costs of medieval times had an important role in shaping medieval agricultural institutions and production techniques, and must also have sharply reduced wages in medieval Europe.
Alternate fortunes? The role of domestic ducks and geese from Roman to Medieval times in Britain
In this paper the relative frequency of duck and goose bones found in archaeological sites of Roman and medieval times in Britain will be discussed.
Millstones for Medieval Manors
Richard Holt recently reminded us that mills were at the forefront of medieval technology and argued persuasively that windmills may have been invented in late twelfth-century England.
The City of York in the time of Henry VIII
During this period, the role of the landed aristocracy was changing. With the creation of a professional standing army, in which soldiers were paid a wage, and the use of foreign mercenaries (think of the Swiss Guard), the traditional military function of the nobility receded.
Famine for Profit: Food Surpluses in Medieval Germany
A reading of Malthus’s text reveals that his argument was essentially religious—violation of his “principle” of population was a violation of god’s will…
Early Medieval Lead Processing in the Slavic Territories and the Possible Mention of Trade in Lead by Ibrāhīm Ibn Ya’Qūb
The purpose of this article is to draw attention to the beginnings of lead processing in the Early Middle Age, based on the latest archaeological information.
Communities and sustainability in medieval and early modern Aragon, 1200-1600
This paper examines the case of sheep raising in Aragon from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century to explore the political dynamics and social criteria that rural communities used to manage their common land, and their role in larger economic and political frameworks.
The medieval monastery as franchise monopolist
This paper continues a line of inquiry begun by Ekelund, HCbert and Tollison, (hereafter, E-H-T) which uses the theories of monopoly, rent seeking, and industrial organization to explain the economics of the medieval monastery…
The Paleodemography of the Black Death 1347-1351
The Black Death of 1347-50 has fascinated both researchers and lay people for over six hundred years1. The medieval epidemic had profound consequences both culturally and demographically and it did much to shape human history.
Village community and peasant society in medieval England
The structure of peasant society in medieval England has long been a subject of interest for scholars from many disciplines within the social sciences including history, sociology, economics and archaeology.
The Woodland Economy of Kent, 1066-1348
At the time of Domesday Book a great part of the county, perhaps a third, or even more, was tree clad, and while by the thirteenth century the proportion had fallen.
Salt trade and warfare in early medieval Transylvania
For medieval man, salt was a strategic resource as important as iron and gold.
The Colour of Money: Crusaders and Coins in the Thirteenth-Century Baltic Sea
Were coins actually perceived as coloured? Several studies have elucidated the idea that there are ways of perceiving, understanding and classifying colours other than in the modern western sense.
The Disappearance of Ancient Slavery
Since access to ancient documents was unobtainable, the information in this paper is based on the writings of twentieth century historians.
Anglo-Saxon Ironwork
The aim of this paper is to describe the principal products (including arrowheads, but excluding other weapons) of the blacksmith in the Middle and Late Anglo-Saxon periods…