The Origins of Open Field Agriculture [Hardcover]

Originally 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.

List 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

Originally published in 1981 The Origins of Open Field Agriculture looks at the challenges to traditional ideas on the origins of settlement and their associated economy and casts new light on understandings of vil£-