Medieval Resource Management

I am interested in how people in medieval Europe have managed various resources to make the most of their potential. I have looked at the forest and fishery management and cathedral construction in the early Anglo-Norman period (1066-1135) in England and Normandy, as well as swine husbandry.

I have discussed medieval environmental history as a discipline and my own work in the field in two podcasts: 2013, Umeå Group for Premodern Studies and 2009, Environmental History Resources.

Publications

The enduring landscape of medieval cathedral construction

UGPS Working Paper Series 2014-003, Umeå University, 2014. open access

This paper examines the great building phase of the Anglo-Normans in England from an environmental rather than the more common architectural standpoint. THe construction of massive cathedrals, modern monasteries, and ubiquitous parish churches resulted in environmental consequences for medieval England after the conquest. Extracting construction resources sculpted enduring marks on both the medieval and modern landscape of England.

The origins and history of medieval wood pastures

co-authored with Peter Quelch, forthcoming in European Wood-pastures in Transition: A Social-ecological Approach, ed. Tibor Hartel and Tobias Plieninger (Routledge, April 2014).

Running amuck? Urban swine management in late medieval England

Agricultural History 87 (2013): 429-451. Online with subscription

Abstract: Swine as agricultural products were extremely common in the medieval townscape, but pigs are also notoriously damaging if allowed to run amuck. This article explores how local governments tried to regulate pig rearing as an integrated element in the urban space, arguing that the authorities attempted to control the movement, feeding, and slaughter of swine as much as possible to circumvent damage to goods, crops, and even people. Urban government and court records from the most populous English urban centers as well as smaller towns from the end of the thirteenth century through sixteenth century show that swine were not free roamers in towns of the Middle Ages. Because swine were a daily part of urban life, and an integral part of local agricultural production, they required cradle-to-grave controls.

Pigs and pollards - medieval insights for UK wood pasture restoration

Sustainability 5 (2013): 387-399. Open access online

Abstract: English wood pastures have become a target for ecological restoration, including the restoration of pollarded trees and grazing animals, although pigs have not been frequently incorporated into wood pasture restoration schemes. Because wood pastures are cultural landscapes, created through the interaction of natural processes and human practices, a historical perspective on wood pasture management practices has the potential to provide insights for modern restoration projects. Using a wide range of both written and artistic sources form the Middle Ages, this article argues that pigs were fed in wood pastures both during the mast season when acorns were available and at other times as grazing fields. Pollarded pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) likely dominated these sustainable cultural landscapes during the medieval period.

The roots of the English royal forest

in Anglo-Norman Studies 32: Proceedings of the Battle Conference 2009, ed. Chris Lewis, 114-128 (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2010)

Abstract: This paper challenges scholarship on the English forest that focuses on royal hunting. Through an analysis of pre- and post-Conquest Continental charters, the paper first identifies characteristics of areas called forest. It then contrasts the Continental traits to forest in William the Conqueror's England as documented in charters and Domesday Book. It argues that William imported a specific forest system from Normandy: a system in which nobles could have forest, foresters served nobles in both forest and woodland, and hunting rights were not as important as property management to ensure productivity.

Resources, Roles & Conflict: Active Resource Management in the Anglo-Norman Kingdom

Masters thesis, University of Houston, 2004, directed by Sally Vaughn.

Link to my Master's Thesis as a pdf. Note that this was published under my prior name, Dolores Wilson

Abstract: Contrary to the view that the Middle Ages was simply a time of rapid environmental exploitation and degradation, legal documents of the Anglo-Norman kings who reigned England and Normandy 1066-1135 reveal that medieval landholders practiced conscious management of their resources. These resources centered on woodland and fisheries, both daily necessities. Because of the value of woodland products, foresters employed by the king, lay nobility, and ecclesiastics actively managed trees and vegetation. The understanding of ecosystem damage is evident in controls on fisheries, specifically restrictions on blocking the passage of fish in waterways. These conservation efforts were not aimed at environmental preservation because of altruistic motivations, but rather to preserve needed resources for economic and political ends. Because of the value of the environmental riches at their disposal, conflict was inevitable and could escalate to violence. These incidents reinforce the conclusion that the Anglo-Normans practiced a defacto active resource management.

Multi-use management of the medieval Anglo-Norman forest

Journal of the Oxford University History Society, 1.1 (2004). Available online. Note that this was published under my prior name, Dolores Wilson

Abstract: Contrary to the common view that the Middle Ages was a time of rapid environmental exploitation and degradation, legal documents of the first three Anglo-Norman kings, who reigned over England and Normandy from 1066 to 1135, reveal that medieval landholders in their kingdom practised conscious forestry management to balance demands on woodland resources. The king, nobility, and clergy employed foresters and other forest custodians to delicately balance requirements for timber, pastureland, and hunting, in order to accommodate the needs of everyday life as well as noble entertainment. The Anglo-Normans employed multi-use forest management that is strikingly similar to modern forestry practises of the United Kingdom and the United States.

Forests and forestry—Europe

in Encyclopedia of Society and Culture in the Medieval World, ed. Pam Crabtree (New York: Facts on File, 2008), 473-475.

Conference Papers

"Here piggy, piggy: Uncovering the ecological effects of swine in the medieval city and countryside," European Society for Environmental History, 2011.

‘“Without which the forests cannot be preserved’: Magna Carta, ecclesiastics, and forest sustainability,” European Society for Environmental History, 2005. Summary published in History and Sustainability: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of the European Society for Environmental History (Florence: Università di Firenze, 2005).

“Mirror images: Nobles and clergy who copied royal resource management strategies,” International Medieval Congress (Leeds), 2004.

“The environmental cost of medieval cathedral construction,” International Congress on Medieval Studies (Kalamazoo), 2004.

“Implications of feeding pigs in the Anglo-Norman forest,” European Society for Environmental History, 2003. Summary published in Dealing With Diversity: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the European Society for Environmental History (Prague: Charles University Faculty of Science, 2003).

“The intertwined nature of politics and the environment in Magna Carta,” Texas Medieval Association Annual Conference, 2003.

“Hide and seek: Finding medieval environmental history in hidden places,” National Council for Public History, 2003.

“Foresters, hunters & hawkers: Agents of Anglo-Norman resource conservation,” Texas Medieval Association Annual Conference, 2002.

Related publications

Review of John Aberth, An Environmental History of the Middle Ages: The Crucible of Nature, available on Reviews in History, 2013.