Agriculture in Medieval Times

Farming was a crucial part of life in medieval times. It was how many peasants made a living to support their families. Many medieval people did not actually own the land they farmed; instead it belonged to their lord of the manor. A peasant would pay rent to his lord and was sometimes required to give up his harvest as a part of renting the land. Most of the peasants were expected to work the lord’s land for a certain number of days a week. Being a peasant wasn’t easy. They worked long hours for very little pay, but in return they were protected by the knights of the manor.

Three-field system

The Europeans developed new farming ideas that helped them greatly expand food supplies and lead to the rise of towns. One of these techniques was the three-field system. Initially, as people migrated to the northern parts of Europe, they brought with them the two-field system, which was well suited to the climate of the Mediterranean. The climate affected how the crops grew which meant it also affected how good of a living they made for their family. The more temperate climate of northern Europe allowed the peasants to grow crops in both winter and summer. This however, caused the soil to become exhausted and worn down if they used the old two-field system. As a result the peasants divided their land into three fields, one for winter crops, one for summer, and one that remained empty. The use of the fields was rotated each year. Another part of the system, in order to prevent the soil from becoming worn down, was to use different crops that took different types of nutrients from the soil. The winter crops usually consisted of winter wheat or rye, and the spring and summer crops were wheat or beans and peas. 

The plow used in medieval times was still the scratch plow, which worked fine in the dry soil of the Mediterranean, but was not suited for the wetter, deeper soils of northern Europe. Such a plow might be re-enforced with iron, or it might be nothing more than a curved digging stick. The main source of power for pulling the plow was the ox hooked up by a yoke harness pulled at the neck. Although slow, the ox was more than some peasants could even afford. As a result, they had to pull their own plows or dig with spades. Since some peasants continued to use the two-field system instead of the three-field system, only fifty percent of the farmland was in use in any given year, and because of this, crop yields were very low. 

In the Roman Empire, for every bushel of seed grain planted, four bushels would be harvested. In the early Middle Ages, with the poor techniques being used, this ratio dropped to one and a half or two to one. A full half or more of peasant’s harvest had to be saved as seed grain for next year’s planting. In years of famine, this led to serious difficulties. 

http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/west/10/FC63

by: Raleigh Manning, Alyssa Omberg, Hunter Webb