Springtime Farming in Medieval Europe

This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years.

In our journey through the medieval/renaissance period, I thought I would describe live during the spring time.  As always, I am giving a general account of overall Europe. Each region was different, and as such had different customs, climate or soil conditions. Consider the fact that spring arrived in Italy much sooner than it does in Scandinavian countries.

So how was life in the spring in medieval times in Europe.

For the serf, spring time had different meanings. First, since the weather was warmer, they no longer feared freezing to death, but it also meant the hard work of farming began.

When I state hard work of farming, I do not mean that the medieval farmer has little to do during the winter.  They gathered willow rods known as ‘withies’, they would take these withies and weave them to make their baskets.  These baskets would be used throughout the year, they would hold seed to sow the fields, used when gathering fruit or vegetables, and to help with feeding of the animals. Not to mention the fact of trying to stay alive.

Winter was also a time of repair. If the house, or tools, needed repair it was done in winter.  These repairs insured that the inside of the house would be somewhat dry during the spring rains.  The tools themselves would be ready for spring planting.

The first task in spring was that the fields had to be plowed, and this was a long difficult process.  Before the horse collar arrived in Europe from China, around 920 AD. Most of the plowing was done by hand or using oxen. Oxen are powerful animals, but are also slow, this meant fields took a long time to plow for the spring planting.

First tool used in plowing was the ard, this was basically a wooden plough with part of the wood sticking into the ground. The next big advancement is the mouldboard, this had a piece of steel or iron plowing into the field. This was a mass improvement, because now ground high in clay could be plowed, which was not possible with the ard.

The next big advancement with the plough was adding a wheel to it. This kept the plough blade at a constant height not allowing it to be dragged into the dirt and stopping.

The plough itself was communal, meaning every farmer in the area used it. It was such an important part of a farmer’s trade that when not in use sometimes it was kept inside the village church.

Seeds were sown by hand.  First a row was cut into the ground, then someone would walk next to the row throwing seed into it. Once the seeds were sewn, they had to be covered by dirt. To do this the farmers used a harrow.  This was a square frame with nails or spikes made of metal or wood that would move and smooth the soil over the seeds.

Grains, barley and oats, a very important staple in medieval were sown by the broadcast method, which was basically throwing it by hand. Barley and oats were sometimes sown together in a mixture known as dredge.

Some plants such Peas and beans were painstakingly dibbled. A small t-shaped stick with a point (known as a dibbler or dibbling stick) was used to poke a hole in the ground where the seeds would be planted.

After the planting of the seed, birds had to be scared away.  This was a job for children who would wander around the field all day yelling, or hitting drums or gongs.

Weeds in the field also had to be removed throughout the entire faming season. This task was tedious and difficult for it was done by hand by the entire family, they would use simple hoes or even stick to remove these weeds.

Trimming of young fruit trees is another activity that had to be done. This is a skilled craft: if you do too much trimming no fruit will grow, if too little there may be more abundant, but smaller fruit.  The resulting fruit of the trees were important for the diet of medieval serfs. Older fruit trees would be trimmed in the fall.

With the coming of spring meant a renewal of the seasons and new life. For a commoner on a farm in medieval times, it was just another period of hard work.  This work was the preparation for one task, giving the farmer another chance of surviving through another year.

W.A. Rusho is a professional wrestler, actor and author. Contact him via his website, or email.

DO YOU LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ?  Support a blogger’s writings by just clicking an ad on their site!!!