Medieval Fields
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| Author | David Hall |
|---|---|
| Pages | 56 |
Medieval Fields by David Hall
Medieval Fields by David Hall is an informative and accessible introduction to the development, structure, and archaeology of medieval field systems. Presented in a softback format with 56 black-and-white pages, this compact volume offers clear explanations and detailed illustrations that help readers understand how medieval landscapes were shaped and how their traces can still be identified today.
Ideal for enthusiasts of landscape history, archaeology, metal detecting, and medieval studies, this book provides insight into ridge-and-furrow, open-field systems, enclosures, settlement patterns, and the agricultural practices that influenced the British countryside for centuries.
Whether you are a student, researcher, detectorist, or simply fascinated by the evolution of rural landscapes, Medieval Fields serves as an excellent reference and an engaging read.
On the back cover:
Medieval fields have been studied by historians, historical geographers and archaeologists for over a century, yet few accurate accounts are readily available, and many old errors remain entrenched. This book rectifies that deficiency by providing a concise account of the subject. Exploring the layout and widespread occurrence of medieval fields, David Hall gives a detailed description of their characteristic components and describes the variety and complexity of regional cropping practices as dictated by the period’s cumbersome system of byelaws. After 1500, many modifications were introduced into open fields to improve their efficiency and to increase the quantity of available pasture. New techniques of archaeological fieldwork are shown as having revolutionised the study of medieval fields, so that it is possible to survey field patterns and so reconstruct maps for those many parishes that do not have contemporary plans. Coupled with a multi-disciplinary approach to the origins of medieval fields, these have even led to the surprising conclusion that some fields were laid out in a large-scale planned manner before the Norman conquest.
David Hall read Chemistry at Oxford before pursuing his interest in history and archaeology, taking a post at Cambridge (funded by English Heritage) to make an archaeological survey of the Fenlands. He has conducted fieldwork in the East Midlands and elsewhere to record medieval fields.