Agrarian Civilization in Medieval England Through the Eyes of Cuxham

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Agrarian Civilization in Medieval England through the eyes of Cuxham

In the study of historical civilizations, one of the constantly discussed is the Agrarian civilization. Singman defined the Agrarian civilization as a historical form of civilizations, which were primarily founded on peasant farming (5). The very first agrarian civilization was experienced in about 3200 BCE in areas such as Mesopotamia and Nubia. In the 13th century, agrarian civilizations spread even further. Beginning the 13th century all through to the 14th century, England was the center stage with regard to agrarian civilizations. While this is the case, in this region, it was the village of Cuxham that experienced the most widespread agrarian civilizations. In this regard, it could be argued that this particular village could be seen as a microcosm or a useful example of general agrarian civilizations in the medieval England.

As noted above, the very first agrarian civilization was experienced in about 3200 BCE in areas such as Mesopotamia and Nubia. However, in Cuxham, the civilizations came in the early years of the 13th century. According to Singman, the economy of Cauxham has always been agricultural based (232). Since the middle ages, the farming practiced was a mixed one and was strongly biased towards the production of grains, with the producers being presented with the benefit of access to t Singman adds to this by indicating that the farmland was basically divided between the rector and the Merton College on one hand, and customary tenants with smaller stakes, on the other hand (234). The recor was a substantial occupier, while the Merton College’s demesne was leased out in the later years of the 13th century. Singman also indicated that the demesne was consolidated into what looked like blocks (236). While this was the case, the tenant land remained in strips, which appeared scattered across the three open fields until the exit years of the 14th century. Singman also revealed that the two medieval mills tended to remain as essential assets. However, retail and craft activities were very limited (238).

Singman revealed that in the years leading to the end of the 13th century, the Cuxham Demesne were cultivated or sown with seed each year (240). Adding to this, Singman reported that half of the area was cultivated with wheat, which was adopted as the major cash crop. Oats was the next most precious cash crop (243). The plant was majorly used for fodder. Other crops that the subjects of this village grew included dredge, peas, barley, as well as, vetch. However, these were grown in very restricted amounts or quantities. The village also featured about 70 sheep, especially after 1310, and these were fundamentally for the purpose of producing wool. Aside from this, were a dozen cows, which produced milk for the use across the entire village. Moreover, there were about 20 pigs and poultry. On top of this, the village had a dovecot, which has been reported across research as responsible for producing between 500 and 1500 young dover that were used exclusively by the Merton College.