Agricultural Progress in Medieval England: Some Evidence from Eastern Norfolk
Thirteenthand fourteenth-century English agriculture is currently held in low repute. According to M. M. Postan "the inertia of medieval agricultural technology is unmistakable with the result that an agricultural system persisted in which the arable and pastoral sectors were competitive rather than complementary. As J. Z. Titow has observed, "a chronic state of under-manuring . . . would go a long way towards explaining the low level of productivity generally prevalent on the Winchester manors", and since stocking levels were probably even lower on peasant holdings, few would dissent from Postan's assertion that "we could not expect the villagers' output per acre to equal that of a well-managed demesne in the same locality".2 When, as in the thirteenth century, agriculture of such a low level of proficiency had to feed a steadily increasing population it is hardly surprising that events eventually followed a Malthusian course. This interpretation of the crisis which terminated the demographic and economic upswing of the early middle ages has been stated most succinctly by J. D. Chambers: