HIST-102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 68: Crop Yield, New Communities
14 Oct 2020
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Not all medievalists share this view; many and perhaps even most scholars, french and otherwise, argue for a greater degree of continuity and gradual evolutionary change over this century, and reject the idea of a fundamental and radical shift. The debate is a vigorous one that shows no sign of abating soon. It is in fact one of the most interesting debates currently astir among medievalists. Most people worked the land itself, either farming, flock-keeping, or foresting; a far smaller number made their livings in agricultural manufacturing: blacksmithing, butchery, milling, coopering (barrel-making), and simple weaving. Fewer still worked as miners or quarrymen, as river ferrymen, tanners, or carters. But all remained tied, in one way or another, to the land. But conditions for medieval peasants improved considerably at this time and remained surprisingly favorable for the next three hundred years.
