Water and Society in Early Medieval Italy, AD 400}}}1000 [Paperback]

A discussion of the relationship between people and water in medieval Italy, first published in 1998.This book offers an original discussion of an element--- water---and its relationship with people. In particular it shows how early medieval Italian societies coped with the problems of having too much or too little water, and analyses their use of it. Such treatment illuminates both the workings of post-classical societies and of the environments in which these societies lived. Domestic usage, bathing, irrigation and drainage, fishing, and milling all receive full coverage.This book offers an original discussion of an element--- water---and its relationship with people. In particular it shows how early medieval Italian societies coped with the problems of having too much or too little water, and analyses their use of it. Such treatment illuminates both the workings of post-classical societies and of the environments in which these societies lived. Domestic usage, bathing, irrigation and drainage, fishing, and milling all receive full coverage.This book offers an original discussion of an element--water--and its relationship with people. In particular it shows how early medieval Italian societies coped with the problems of having too much or too little water, and analyzes their use of it. Such treatment illuminates both the workings of postclassical societies and of the environments in which these societies lived. Domestic usage, bathing, irrigation and drainage, fishing, and milling all receive full coverage.Introduction; 1. Water for everyday use; 2. Water, baths, and corporeal washing; 3. The wet and the dry: water in agriculture; 4. Water, fish, and fishing; 5. Water and milling in early medieval Italy; 6. Conclusion: the hydrological cycle in the early Middle Ages. ...I learned a tremendous amount from this thoroughly documented and informative work, and I will be consulting it frequently... Harry B. Evans, American Historical Review ...a very interesting bolSE