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Farming - part 2

60 second histories

This video covers:

A description of low ranking ceorls who are not only farmers but tradesmen too and how they use the three-field system of crop rotation.  It also explains bartering. 

Although many of the low-ranking ceorls are farmers there are many skilled tradesmen amongst them. These men often trade their skills or the goods that they make for food and produce. So for example a blacksmith could make a farmer the metal fittings for a plough and in return the farmer could give him some eggs, chickens and oats. Trading like this is called bartering and that’s how the village survives. The seasons control what food we plant, when we plant it and when we harvest. It’s my responsibility as a thegn to supervise the farmers and help plan the farming year. We’ve developed a three field system, whereby in the spring vegetables or oats can be planted in the first field, wheat or rye can be planted in the second field in the autumn and the third field would be left fallow to allow the soil to recover. It’s called crop rotation.
Eras: 
Anglo Saxon
Topics: 
Domestic Life
Farming & Food
Character: 
Saxon thegn
Key words: 
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