Rural Economy and Country Life in the Medieval West (English and French Edition)

In 1961 Georges Duby wrote what is still the best overview of European medieval rural history to date. Originally published in French and first translated into English in 1968, Rural Economy and Country Life in the Medieval West brings together local research on the countryside and its economic life and distills from it lessons that apply much more widely. With this edition, the University of Pennsylvania Press brings this modern classic back into print. Georges Duby 1919-1996 was one of the foremost medievalists and a prolific author. His many books include The Three Orders: Feudal Society Imagined, The Chivalrous Society, History Continues, and The Age of Cathedrals: Art and Society, 980-1420. Contents Maps Preface to the French Edition Preface to the English Edition Book I: IX and X Centuries Introduction I Land and Labour II Wealth and Society. The Manorial Economy Book II: XI-XIII Centuries The Rhythm and Limits of Expansion I The Extension of the Arable II Work in the Fields III Agricultural Expansion and the Structure of Society IV The Growth of Exchange and its Effects Book III: XI-XIII Centuries The Manor and the Rural Economy I Wealth and Power in the XI and XII Centuries II Lords and Peasants in the XI and XII Centuries III The XIII Century (1180-1330): Evolution of Feudal Rent: Peasant Dues Conclusion: Peasants and the Manor on the Eve of the XIV Century Book IV: Change and Upheaval in the XIV Century Introduction I New Features in the Rural Economy II The Decay of the Manorial Economy III The Peasants Documents I IX-X Centuries II XI-XIII Centuries The Expansion Ill The Manor. XI-XII Centuries IV The XIII Century. Lords and Peasants V XIV-XV Centuries Glossary Bibliography Index One fact is outstanding: in the civilization of the ninth and tenth centuries the rural way of life was universal.