In 'The English Peasantry and the Enclosure of Common Fields' by Gilbert Slater, the author meticulously dissects the impact of enclosure acts on the traditional way of life of English peasants during the agricultural revolution. Slater's work is characterized by its detailed analysis of historical documents, providing a thorough examination of the economic and social consequences of land enclosure on rural communities. The book is a must-read for those interested in agrarian history and the transformation of England's countryside in the 18th and 19th centuries. Slater's writing style is scholarly and objective, making this book a valuable resource for academic research in the field of British history. Gilbert Slater, a noted historian and lecturer, brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his study of the English peasantry and the enclosure movement. His deep understanding of the subject matter is evident in the thorough research and insightful analysis presented in this book. Slater's background as a historian specializing in social and economic history informs his nuanced exploration of the complex issues surrounding land ownership and rural life in England. For readers interested in the intersection of economic forces and social change, 'The English Peasantry and the Enclosure of Common Fields' offers a comprehensive examination of a pivotal moment in English history. Slater's expertise and meticulous research make this book an essential addition to any library on agrarian studies and British history.

The later Middle Ages was an overwhelmingly rural world, with probably three out of four households reliant upon farming for a living. Yet conventional accounts of the period rarely do justice to the variety of ways in which the land was managed and worked. The thirteen essays collected in this volume draw upon the abundant documentary evidence of the period to explore that diversity. In the process they engage with the issue of classification - without which effective generalisation is impossible - and offer a series of solutions to that particularly thorny methodological challenge. Only through systematic and objective classification is it possible to differentiate between and map different field systems, husbandry types, and land-use categories. That, in turn, makes it possible to consider and evaluate the relative roles of soils and topography, institutional structures, and commercialised market demand in shaping farm enterprise both during the period of mounting population before the Black Death and the long era of demographic decline that followed it. What emerges is an agrarian world more commercialised, differentiated, and complex than is usually appreciated, whose institutional and agronomic contours shaped the course of agricultural development for centuries to come.

The first study to describe 100 years of pre-enclosure agricultural systems throughout England from one of the foremost authorities on medieval field systems.

Commons are an urban as well as rural phenomenon, designed to provide grazing for the draft animals of tradesmen ("a green precursor to the carpark") as well as to serve as a civic amenity. This beautifully illustrated book is the result of an English Heritage project to survey the archaeology of surviving town commons to get a picture of their historic importance and to promote their conservation. The book presents the findings, tracing the origins of the commons and how they relate to the urban landscape, as well as examining the many uses of commons, primarily agricultural, but also including industrial functions such as quarrying, serving as military training grounds, and as open spaces for entertainment and public meetings. A gazetteer lists the known historical town commons, together with their current state of survival as recorded by the project.

In this book, Professor Dahlman applies modern economic methodology to an old historical problem. He demonstrates how the quaint institutions of the ancient English open field system of agriculture can be understood as an intelligent and rational adaptation to a particular problem of production and to certain historical circumstances. He argues that the two major characteristics of this type of agriculture - scattered strips owned by individual peasants and extensive areas of common land - both fulfilled vital economic functions. This overturns the traditional view of the open field system as inefficient and rigidly bound by tradition, and throws light on the behaviour of medeival peasants. Professor Dahlman also offers some generalisations about the economic theory of institutions and institutional change, refuting the idea that an economic analysis of institutions must necessarily be deterministic. As a challenge to some of the fundamental criticisms of the application of economic theory to historical problems, the book will be of great interest to agrarian historians and to economic historians generally, as well as to specialists in the medieval period.