In some cases plowing for the fall crop began in early summer.. By the end of August the summer grain harvest began.. This crucial harvest of winter wheat and rye and spring barley and o
Trang 1into stacks and then brought to storage barns Peasants who
mowed the meadows belonging to the lord were entitled to a
portion, in some traditions as much as they could carry off
the field with the points of their scythes
Care of the herds of sheep, goats, and cattle was also an
important summer occupation Lambs were sheared in late
spring and their fleeces spun into wool Cattle and sheep were
pastured on fields intended for later crops to fertilize the soil
In some cases plowing for the fall crop began in early summer
The plowman dug as deep as possible to expose weeds, which
then had to be laboriously cut at the root and pulled from the
ground Common weeds were thistles, nettles, cockles,
corn-flower, and marigolds
In the summer households harvested the flax and hemp
that matured in their gardens The plants were pulled by hand
and then dried in the sun and put into running water to rot
away the waste parts and clean the plants Flax and hemp
fibers were beaten and separated and then hung up to dry
Hemp was wound and used to make rope, and flax was spun
into yarn used for matting and other household goods
In late summer as food stores dwindled, medieval
peas-ants had to forage for food from the surrounding forests and
take any game they could from communal lands or, illegally,
from the lord’s preserves By the end of August the summer
grain harvest began This crucial harvest of winter wheat and
rye and spring barley and oats depended on a steady
rain-fall in the spring months as well as several fair days, allowing
harvesters to bring a dry crop into storage The reapers cut
the wheat with short sickles and the other grains with long
scythes Binders followed behind to gather the sheaves into
bundles In some places a tithe to the church of one of every
10 sheaves was collected, and the rest was carried to storage
Gleaners were allowed to collect any cut wheat that remained
in the field Damp grain could be dried in special ovens, if any
were available The stubble remaining was left to hens, ducks,
and geese, who were turned loose to clear the fields and fatten
themselves up for winter feasts
autumn ProcEssing
Harvested grain had to be processed, which required the
la-bor of men, women, and animals The work was done
imme-diately after the harvest, when the days began growing short
and the nights cold Wheat and other grains were threshed
(beaten) with long-handled beaters to separate grains from
the ears and stalks The grains were winnowed by being
thrown up into the air and allowing the wind to carry away
the chaff, which was then used as animal feed Seeds were
removed by passing the grain over a sieve The processed
grain was collected and stored, ready to be milled into flour
and then baked into bread If a running stream was available,
grain mills were powered by water wheels In some places draft animals were used to drag millstones over the grain and pound it into flour Rodents and other vermin posed a con-stant threat to processed grain, which could be kept for a long period unless affected by damp
After the harvest the peasant settled his yearly debts and rent with the lord of the manor Livestock that was no longer useful to breed or to work was slaughtered at this time, and the meat was stored and preserved by salting or by hanging
in a smokehouse The skins of cattle and pigs were saved for tanning into leather for clothes and shoes Winter crops of wheat and rye were planted and harrowed after the fall plow-ing The fall was also the time for collecting wild fruit and for herds of pigs to scavenge nuts and mushrooms in the forest,
a right that peasants might gain through negotiations with the lord
In years of good harvests peasants had good stores of grain, nuts, dried fruits, and meat to last between the fall and spring They collected wood from the forest floor (because cutting live trees was usually prohibited) and reeds for use
as thatching material to repair or build homes Household chores for women included making or repairing clothes, pre-serving food, preparing meals, and caring for children Men worked at repairing their homes and tools, at crafts such as ironworking and woodworking, at milling grain, and attend-ing markets
imProvEmEnts in agriculturE
The two-field system of planted and fallow plots was eventu-ally replaced by a three-field system: one field was left fallow while the other two were used alternately for spring and fall crops Three-field rotation greatly increased harvests, as did the development of new technologies starting in the 11th cen-tury The heavy-wheeled plow fitted with a moldboard was better adapted to the heavy soils of northern Europe A pad-ded collar fitted to a horse enabled the peasant to replace oxen with the faster animal for plowing fields and hauling goods longer distances Water mills made use of the power of local streams for milling grain more efficiently and for making tex-tiles Marl, or high-calcium earth, was used to extend animal dung as a fertilizer over large areas
Throughout the 12th and 13th centuries European farm production and population increased National monarchies were establishing control over larger areas, although lo-cal power still rested in the hands of regional leaders: earls, dukes, counts, viscounts, and landowning nobles At the same time, arable land was extended to fields that were previously used as pasture and forage land In about the 13th century manorial lords began exerting closer control over common land These changes reduced the herds of cattle, sheep, and
agriculture: Europe