Open-field system
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The open-field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe during the Middle Ages and lasted into the 20th century in Russia, Iran, and Turkey. Each manor or village had two or thre
The method of ploughing the fields created a distinctive ridge and furrow pattern in open-field agriculture, seen here at Wood Stanway, Gloucestershire. The outlines of the medieval strips of cultivation, called selions, are still clearly visible in these now enclosed fields.
A four-ox-team plough, circa 1330. The ploughman is using a mouldboard plough to cut through the heavy soils. A team could plough about one acre (0.4 ha) per day.
Fiddleford Manor in Dorset, England, a manor house built about 1370. The part of the house in the background was added in the 16th century.
Strip field at Forrabury, Cornwall
Glebe
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A glebe is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved to the church.
Bayeux Tapestry scene 23 Harold sacramentum fecit Willelmo duci