Agricultural History Review, Volume 57 Part 1 (2009), p. 132

This collection of essays confronts issues surrounding regional diversity in agriculture in a European context following the arrival of the Black Death. In a period characterized by conflicting interpretations of decline, contraction or re-distribution, it is very useful to have works of synthesis alongside detailed case studies. The volume is divided into three sections, each introduced by a comparative essay that draws together the common themes and regional variations and provides the context for the subsequent case studies. It is here that the European dimension is strongest and here too where the editors draw out the significance of the detailed research.

Part one ‘Markets, incentives and the role of prices’, begins with a contextualizing essay on the current state of research into agricultural change across western Europe. To this Britnell adds his own insights so that, whilst fully accepting the impact that the decline in population had on agriculture, especially the shortage of labour, he gives prominence to the effects it had on production for the market. In ‘English agricultural output and prices, 1350–1450’ he argues that the period was characterized by fluctuations and regional variations in agricultural performance with a series of upswings (usually led by pastoral husbandry rather than arable) and troughs with the general trend downwards in agricultural output. Schofield examines ‘Regional price differentials and local economies in north-east England, c.1350–c.1520’ by employing price data from Durham Cathedral Priory in comparison with data from southern England and finds that there were certain national high price years in the south which were not reflected in the Durham data. Regional differences were sufficiently divergent to carry implications for productivity and welfare in the different localities. In particular, the North was more vulnerable to dearth because the population was more heavily market-dependent, although it was surprising that the impact of attacks by the Scots is not mentioned. Gemmill contributes a meticulous case study of ‘Town and region: the corn market in Aberdeen, c.1398–c.1468’, describing the strategies adopted by the town’s council to provision its inhabitants through the regulation of its corn market. The significance of this in a European context is established in the introductory essay.

The innovative use of evidence drawn from tithes lies at the heart of this volume. Part two, ‘Output, productivity and the evidence of tithes’, is introduced by Dodds, the current authority on the subject, in a contextual essay that focuses on the English evidence and trends in the period before the Black Death. This is balanced by his comparative case study of ‘Patterns of decline: arable production in England, France and Castile, 1370–1450’ where sensitive comparisons reveal differences in the chronology of recovery, stagnation and decline which are linked to demographic change. The discussion of the evidence drawn from tithes is strengthened by Swanson’s contribution, ‘A universal levy: tithes and economic agency’. He w,rites with the authority of an ecclesiastical historian who engages with economic activity and questions whether religious institutions adopted a commercially-motivated policy towards tithes, suggesting instead that there may have been other moral and ethical considerations. Hare’s study, ‘Lord, tenant and the market: some tithe evidence from the Wessex region’, involves a direct comparison between production and output from demesne and tithe. He finds that whilst these tended to follow similar trends, there were some notable differences in the relative balance of crops between lords and tenants. Local and regional differences were accounted for by the nature of environmental and commercial factors.

Part three, ‘Land, lordship and peasant communities’, begins with Britnell’s authoritative discussion of the Europe evidence. The choice of themes permits comparisons of the impact and consequences of population decline: deserted sites, labour costs, entrepreneurial activity, response to market opportunities, lord-tenant relationships, land tenure and the distribution of holdings. Throughout, he is keen to demonstrate the differences, in addition to the similarities, and highlights the significance of power relationships and social institutions. This pan-European essay is necessary because the three case studies in this section are all based on English evidence. In ‘Changing land use in a moorland region: Spennymoor in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries’, Harris provides a careful reconstruction of the trends in the development of ‘marginal’ land in response to depopulation and market demand. Mullan makes a comparison of customary landholdings on the manors of Taunton and East Meon in ‘Accumulation and polarization in two bailiwicks of the Winchester bishopric estates, 1350–1410: regional similarities and contrasts’ and explains them with reference to trade and additional employment opportunities. Conflict is the theme that permeates Larson’s ‘Rural transformation in northern England: village communities of Durham, 1340–1400’ where he compares conditions on the estates of the Priory and Bishopric. He argues for a pro-active peasantry who ordered their communities, struggled with their lords and neighbours, and initiated a new social order in the aftermath of the Black Death.

The volume’s concluding essay draws together the differences and commonalities and suggests ways in which these aid our understanding of widespread historical change. Together these essays provide us with a fresh look at the evidence for agricultural change in this challenging period and suggest directions for future research.