An Environmental History of Medieval Europe

427 Pages·2014·6.779 MB·English

by  Richard Hoffmann

AnEnvironmentalHistoryofMedievalEurope
How did medieval Europeans use and change their environments,
think about the natural world, and try to handle the natural forces
affecting their lives? This groundbreaking environmental history
examines medieval relationships with the natural world from
the perspective of social ecology, viewing human society as a
hybrid of the cultural and the natural. Richard Hoffmann’s inter-
disciplinary approach sheds important light on such central topics
in medieval history as the decline of Rome, religious doctrine,
urbanization and technology, as well as key environmental themes,
among them energy use, sustainability, disease and climate change.
Revealingtheroleofnaturalforcesineventspreviouslyseenaspurely
human, the book explores issues including the treatment of
animals, the ‘tragedy of the commons’, agricultural clearances and
agrarianeconomies.Byintroducingmedievalhistoryinthecontextof
social ecology, it brings the natural world into historiography as an
agentandobjectofhistoryitself.
RICHARD C. HOFFMANN isProfessorEmeritusandSeniorScholarin
theDepartmentofHistory,YorkUniversity,Canada.Asapioneerin
the environmental history of pre-industrial Europe, he is widely
knownforhiscontributionstomedievalstudies,environmentalstud-
iesandhistoricfisheries.
CambridgeMedievalTextbooks
This is a series of introductions to important topics in medieval
history aimed primarily at advanced students and faculty, and is
designed to complement the monograph series Cambridge Studies
in Medieval Life and Thought. It includes both chronological and
thematicapproachesandaddressesbothBritishandEuropeantopics.
Foralistoftitlesintheseries,see
www.cambridge.org/medievaltextbooks
•
AN ENVIRONMENTAL
HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL
EUROPE
•
RICHARD C. HOFFMANN
UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521700375
©RichardC.Hoffmann2014
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2014
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyClays,StIvesplc
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Hoffmann,RichardC.(RichardCharles),1943–
AnenvironmentalhistoryofmedievalEurope/byRichardC.Hoffmann.
pages cm.–(Cambridgemedievaltextbooks)
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
ISBN978-0-521-87696-4(hardback)–ISBN978-0-521-70037-5(paperback)
1. Humanecology–Europe–History–To1500. 2. Nature–Effectofhuman
beingson–Europe–History–To1500. 3. Socialecology–Europe–History–To
1500. 4. Europe–Environmentalconditions–History–To1500. 5. Europe–
Socialconditions–To1492. 6. Civilization,Medieval. I. Title.
GF540.H64 2013
304.209400902–dc23
2013035617
ISBN978-0-521-87696-4Hardback
ISBN978-0-521-70037-5Paperback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
URLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
CONTENTS
•
Listoffigures pageviii
Listofmaps xiii
Preface xv
Introduction:thinkingaboutmedievalEuropeansintheir
naturalworld 1
1 Longnowilderness 21
NaturaldynamicsinHoloceneEurope 22
CulturaladaptationsandimpactsuptotheRomanClimatic
Optimum 29
EnvironmentalprecedentsandlegacyofclassicalMediterranean
civilization 33
‘Barbarian’adaptations:theIronAgeinnorthernEurope 43
2 Intersectinginstabilities:cultureandnatureat
medievalbeginnings,c.400–900 51
Environmentalrelationsinthedeclineofclassicalcivilization 52
Thediscontinuitiesoflateantiquity,c.350–750 57
Thepressureofadifferentclimate 67
Anomalousadaptationsforanomaloustimesandecosystems:
FrisiaandtheoriginsofVenice 71
TheCarolingianage:windowonaworkinprogress 78
3 HumankindandGod’sCreationinmedievalminds 85
TheWhitethesis,itscriticsandadherents 87
ThelimitstobasicmedievalChristianization 91
Ahostilematerialworld 94
vi Contents
Natureassign 97
Partners:beneficentNaturaandhumancollaboration 101
Voicesofexperience 108
Summation:hegemonies,diversities,andthegap
betweenmedievalideasandaction 110
4 Medievallanduseandtheformationoftraditional
Europeanlandscapes 113
Breadandmeat,powerandnumbers 114
Medievallandscapestransformed:thegreatclearances 119
IntensifiedcereallandscapesinMediterraneanEurope 133
Fromwetlandsandotherdeviantformstograinlands 136
Notbybreadalone 142
Environmentalconsequencesofnewanthropogenicecosystems 148
5 Medievaluse,management,andsustainabilityof
localecosystems,1:primarybiologicalproduction
sectors 155
Sustainabilityinsystemsbasedonindirectsolarenergy 155
TraditionalEuropeanagroecosystems:thenorth 158
TraditionalEuropeanagroecosystems:theMediterranean 169
Pastoralconnections 174
Woodmanship 181
Usingwildlife 188
6 Medievaluse,management,andsustainabilityoflocal
ecosystems,2:interactionswiththenon-living
environment 196
Theenergybasisformedievalsociety 196
Inorganicresources:mining,metallurgy,andother
manufactures 215
Urbanecologies 227
Assessinghistoricsustainability 237
7 ‘Thisbelongstome...’ 241
Howmedievalmen(andwomen)possessedtheearth 243
Commoners,communities,andlords 247
Higherauthority:thestate,publicrights,andthe‘common
good’ 263
8 Sufferingtheuncomprehended:diseaseasa
naturalagent 279
Pathogenicdisease:introductoryconcepts 280
Contents vii
Baselinediseaseconditionsinpre-industrialEurope 283
The‘Justinianicplague’ 285
Leprosy 286
TheBlackDeath 289
Englishsweats 298
Malaria 299
9 Aninconstantplanet,seenandunseen,
underfootandoverhead 304
Subterraneanviolence 305
Recapturingpastplanetaryvariabilityaboveandbelowground 313
MedievalEuropeanclimatesatthecenturyscale 318
Europe’s‘warm’MedievalClimateAnomaly 320
Transitiontoa‘LittleIceAge’ 323
TheLittleIceAge 328
Somecasestudiesofclimate,weather,andmedievalcultures 329
10 Aslowendofmedievalenvironmentalrelations 342
Ecologicalcrisis?Anthropogenicovershoot,slowchill,
suddennaturalshock 342
Bylong-termculturalevolution? 351
Unintendedconsequencesfromananthropogenicshock:the
ColumbianencounterinEuropeanperspective 364
Afterword 371
Asamplerforfurtherreading 378
Index 391
FIGURES
•
Frontispiece NatureandcultureatWaterford,Ireland,1372.
FromWaterford’sGreatCharterRoll,Waterford
TreasuresMuseum,Waterford,Ireland,as
replicatedbyGeorgeVictorDuNoyerRSAI
AlbumCollectionVolume12andherereproduced
withthepermissionoftheRoyalSocietyof
AntiquariesofIreland,Dublin.
0.1 Humansandnature:traditionalseparation.Redrawn
byR.HoffmannafterMarinaFischer-Kowalski
andHelgaWeisz,‘SocietyasHybridbetween
MaterialandSymbolicRealms.TowardaTheoretical
FrameworkofSociety–NatureInteractions’,
AdvancesinHumanEcology,8(1999),215–51. page7
0.2 Humansandnature:aninteractionmodel:societyas
hybrid.RedrawnbyR.HoffmannafterMarina
Fischer-KowalskiandHelgaWeisz,‘SocietyasHybrid
betweenMaterialandSymbolicRealms.Towarda
TheoreticalFrameworkofSociety–NatureInteractions’,
AdvancesinHumanEcology,8(1999),215–51. 8
0.3 Humansandnature:biophysicalstructuresasecosystem
compartmentslinkedtosymbolicculture.Redrawnby
R.HoffmannafterHelmutHaberl,Marina
Fischer-Kowalski,FridolinKrausmann,HelgaWeisz,and
VerenaWiniwarter,‘ProgresstowardsSustainability?What
theConceptualFrameworkofMaterialandEnergyFlow
Listoffigures ix
Accounting(MEFA)CanOffer’,LandUsePolicy,21
(2004),199–213. 9
0.4 Humansandnature:connectingexperience,thought,
andaction.RedrawnbyR.Hoffmannafteranoriginal
firstpublishedbyMarinaFischer-Kowalski and
Rolf-PeterSieferle,‘Dersozial-ökologische
Wirkungszusammenhang’,inHelmutHaberl,Ernst
Kotzmann,andHelgaWeisz,eds.,Technologische
ZivilisationundKolonisierungvonNatur(Viennaand
NewYork:Springer,1998),46. 9
0.5 Sourcesforenvironmentalhistory.Originalgraphicby
RichardC.Hoffmann. 14
2.1 Changeinfieldsystems,ValeoftheWhiteHorse,
Berkshire.Anaerialphotographfrom1969reproduced
withpermissionoftheBerkshireRecordOffice. 65
4.1 PopulationofEurope(excludingRussia),c.600–c.1800.
RedrawnfromaportionofthegraphinPaolo
Malanima,‘Theenergybasisforearlymodern
growth,1650–1820’,inMaartenPraak,ed.,Early
ModernCapitalism:EconomicandSocialChangein
Europe,1400–1800(London:Routledge,2001),
51–68,byCarolynKingoftheCartographic
DraftingOffice,DepartmentofGeography,York
University. 117
4.2 Aheavymouldboardploughanddraughtteamas
representedin:(a)AbbessHerradofLandsberg(Alsace),
Hortusdeliciarum(1176/96);reproducedfromacopyat
BibliothèqueMunicipaldeStrasbourgofHerradde
Landsberg,Hortusdeliciarum,texteexplicativepar
A.StraubetG.Keller(Strasbourg1892–9),Planche
XXX,fol.112b,withpermissionofPhotosetcoll.BNU;
(b)anearlyfourteenth-centuryilluminatedmanuscript
ofthenorthGermanSachsenspiegellawcode;
reproducedwithpermissionfromOldenburger
BilderhandschriftdesSachsenspiegels,
LandesbibliothekOldenburg,Cim410I,fol.54v,
LeihgabederNiedersächsischenSparkassenstiftung. 123
4.3 A‘champion’landscapeinsoutheasternEngland.
ReproducedwithpermissionfromTomWilliamson,
ShapingMedievalLandscapes:Settlement,Society,
x List of figures
Environment(Macclesfield,Cheshire:Windgather
Press,2003),figure1. 128
4.4 ‘Ancientcountryside’insoutheasternEngland.
ReproducedwithpermissionfromTomWilliamson,
ShapingMedievalLandscapes:Settlement,Society,Environment
(Macclesfield,Cheshire:WindgatherPress,2003),figure3. 129
4.5 Montady,athirteenth-centurydrainageprojectin
Languedoc.PhotoIGN:Mission1996FD30–34/250
clichéno.578,reproducedwithpermissionoftheInstitut
Nationaldel’InformationGéographiqueetForestiére,Paris.139
5.1 Sustainabilityasadynamicequilibriumofsocietyand
nature.ModifiedandreconfiguredbyRichard
C.HoffmannfromMarinaFischer-Kowalskiand
H.Haberl,‘Tons,Joules,andMoney:Modesof
ProductionandtheirSustainabilityProblems’,
SocietyandNaturalResources,10(1997),61–85. 156
5.2 Howpre-industrialagriculturalsystemsworkand
thusshouldbestudied.Modifiedandreconfigured
byRichardC.HoffmannfromVerenaWiniwarter
andChristophSonnlechner,DersozialeMetabolismus
dervorindustriallenLandwirtschaftinEuropa,Der
EuropäischeSonderweg.EinProjektder
BreuningerStiftung2(Stuttgart:BreuningerStiftung,
2001),figureB2. 158
5.3 Astereotypical‘medievalmanor’.Anoriginal
representationbyRichardC.Hoffmannofinformation
consideredgeneralknowledgeinthefieldofmedieval
agrarianhistory,drawnbyCarolynKingofthe
CartographicDraftingOffice,Departmentof
Geography,YorkUniversity. 159
5.4 Waysofmanagingwood-producingtrees.Reproduced
withpermissionfromOliverRackham,Treesand
WoodlandintheBritishLandscape,rev.edn.(London:
Dent,1990),figure2.Reproducedwithpermission
ofTheOrionPublishingGroup. 185
5.5 ThecountofFoixhuntsthestagin‘parkland’,late
fourteenthcentury.Reproducedwithpermissionfrom
ParisBibliothèqueNationalMSFr.616,fol.68r. 191
6.1 Theevolvingdesignoffull-riggedships,c.1430–1530.
ReproducedwithpermissionofTheMariner’sMirror. 207