Medieval Agrictulure

Before the Agricultural Revolution

The majority of the work done on farms was by the serfs. All the manor's were self sufficient because they were cut off from one another, which hindered the spread of ideas. Because of this, there was also a lack of farming innovations. Serfs used a scratch plow developed for the dry land of the Mediterranean. It wasn't suited well for the wetter, deeper soils of Northern England. These plows were pulled with oxen if they could be afforded. If not, they were pulled by the serfs themselves.

Two Field System

Serfs during this time used a two field system. Using this system farmers let half of their farm let be grazed on my cattle while the other one was being farmed. This only left 50% of the farmland to be available at any one time. As a result of this system, crop productions were extremely low. 

Beginnings of the Revolution

Around the 800's, Europe's climate began to get warmer. That meant longer growing seasons and more abundant harvests. Despite the plagues during this time, the better-fed population was able to fight off the infections.With the rise of the feudal system that gave even the serfs more stability, people began to get healthier and produce much more crops.

                                                       The Agricultural Revolution

One of the first changes of the revolution was the progression to the three field system. With this, the farmers simply rotated their crops and animals to the next field.  Farmers also decided to alternate crops to keep the soil rich in nutrients. During the winter they planted rye, and legumes (or beans) during the spring. Next, the heavy plow was invented that was able to cut through the deep, wet, soils of most of Europe.The heavy plow needed many oxen to pull it which the individual serfs didn't have. They would often share oxen and take turns plowing the land. One of the last major innovations of the Agricultural Revolution was the plow horse. This led to the invention of the horse shoe and the horse collar. The horse collar protected the horses neck so it wouldn't hurt it pulling the heavy plow. Although the horse couldn't pull any more than the ox, it could pull faster and work longer. With farming at an all time high, cities were able to grow bigger and prosper..

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

Pictures:

http://www.irisyorku.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/medieval-agriculture.jpg
http://medievaleurope.mrdonn.org/horseplow.html