ENGLISH

Decision-Making in Medieval Agriculture

By David Stone

Book information

Publisher
Oxford University Press, USA
Year
2005
ISBN
0199247765, 9780199247769
LCC
S455 .S775 2005
Open Library ID
OL22708965M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
7 MB (7610539 bytes)
Pages
322\322
Topic
History
Time added
2010-05-31 00:48:14

Description

This fascinating and important book uses a wealth of contemporary sources to reconstruct the mental world of medieval farmers and, by doing so, argues that there has been a stereotypical interpretation of the middle ages. David Stone overturns the traditional view of medieval countrymen as economically backward and instead reveals that agricultural decision-making was as rational in the fouteenth century as in modern times. Investigating agricultural mentalities first at a local level and then for England as a whole, Dr Stone argues that human action shaped the course of the rural economy to a much greater extent than has hitherto been appreciated, and challenges the commonly held view that the medieval period was dominated by ecological and economic crises. Focusing in particular on responses to commercial forces and the adoption of agricultural technology, this book has significant implications for our understanding of agricultural development throughout the last thousand years.

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