Description
Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1981, The Origins of Open Field Agriculture looks at the problems connected with open field agriculture the origins of strip cultivation, the three-field system, the adaptation of Celtic' fields, and the development of ploughing techniques. The book looks at the challenges to traditional ideas on the origins of settlement and their associated economy, and casts new light on understandings of village development. The book suggests that conventional views of the nucleated village, in the midst of open field strips as a product of the Anglo-Saxon migration, is no longer tenable. The book brings together the work of distinguished archaeologists, historians, and historical geographers and opens up a new perspective on the early development of medieval agriculture.
Table of ContentsList of Figures and Plates Preface 1. Archaeology and the Origins of Open-field Agriculture 2. The Origins of Open-field Agriculture – The Archaeological Fieldwork Evidence 3. Open-field Agriculture – The Evidence from the Pre-Conquest Charters of the West-Midlands 4. Approaches to the Adoption of the Midland System 5. Commonfield Origins – The Regional Dimension 6. The Interpretation of Subdivided Fields: A Study in Private or Communal Interests? 7. Townfield Origins: The Case of Cockfield, Country Durham 8. The Evolution of Settlement and Open-field Topography in North Arden down to 1300 9. The Origin of Planned Field System in Holderness, Yorkshire 10. Early Customary Tenures in Wales and Open-field Agriculture Bibliography Notes on Contributors Index
