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"Cultivation of Cereals in Early Medieval England"

Zolotarev, Anton Yurievich

Abstract

The article analyzes the latest (late XX - early XXI centuries) data on the cultivation of cereal crops in early medieval England. The author compares the fundamental changes in cereal production in the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages. The author concludes that some cereal crops were replaced by others (emmer and spelt by summer wheat and rye) and that this phenomenon was caused by the change in the ethnic composition of the population of Britain - the settlement of the island by Germanic tribes of Angles and Saxons. The author shows the change of diet that accompanied these changes. The main conclusion of the author of the article is that changes in agri-culture were caused by the adaptation of agriculture in England to new historical conditions and in general can be assessed as progressive changes that determined the shape of agriculture on the island until the modern era.

Keywords: agriculture, cereals, empire, Middle Ages, wheat, rye, barley, oats, bread, porridge.

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Citation

Zolotarev, Anton Yurievich "Cultivation of Cereals in Early Medieval England" Agrarian History, Number 20, 2024 P. 94 - 101. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.14556306