The open field system was the prevalent agricultural system in Europe from the Dark Ages to as recently as the 20th century in places. From the 12th century onwards it was gradually replaced by Inclosure. World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... Petrarch, who conceived the idea of a European Dark Age. From Cycle of Famous Men and Women, Andrea di Bartolo di Bargillac, c. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Inclosure (also commonly enclosure), refers to the process of subdivision of common lands for individual ownership. ...

Open fields appeared to have developed in the medieval period, and were particularly well suited to the very heavy ploughs that were used to cut through the heavy clay soil in North West Europe. Because the ploughs were so heavy, it made more sense to have as long a way as possible to pull them before trying to turn them around. The ox teams which pulled the ploughs were also very expensive, and thus tended to be shared among the families of a village. A farmer works the land in the traditional way with a horse and plough The plough (American spelling: plow) is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. ...

Each village would be surrounded by several large open fields, usually not physically divided from each other, with each field containing a different crop as part of a three field crop rotation. The fields would be split into a number of furlongs (~200 m), each of which would be subdivided into strips covering an area of half an acre (2,000 m²) or less. Each villager was allocated a set number of strips in each field (traditionally about thirty) which they would subsistence farm. The strips were generally allocated in a public meeting at the start of the year. The individual holdings were widely scattered, so that no single farmer would end up with all the good or bad land. Ploughing techniques used one or other form of ridge and furrow cultivation to prepare the land for drainage and planting. Crop rotation: grain crop, fallow land, legumes Crop rotation is the practice of growing two (or more) dissimilar type of crops in the same space in sequence. ... The 5 furlong (1006 m) post on Epsom Downs A furlong is a measure of distance within Imperial units and U.S. customary units. ... An acre is an English unit of area, which is also frequently used in the United States and some Commonwealth countries. ... Subsistence means living in a permanently fragile equilibrium between alimentary needs and the means for satisfying them. ... Ridge and Furrow in Grendon, Northamptonshire The term ridge and furrow is often used by archaeologists and others to describe the pattern of peaks and troughs created in a field and caused by the system of ploughing used during the Middle Ages in Britain. ...

In addition to the three fields, there would be common land where the villagers would graze their livestock, woodland for the pigs, and a communal village green for social events. The ploughed fields could also be used for grazing outside the growing season. In England and Wales, a common is a piece of land over which other people -- often neighbouring landowners -- could exercise one of a number of traditional rights, such as allowing their cattle to graze upon it. ... Sheep are commonly bred as livestock. ... Limber Pine woodland, Toiyabe Range, central Nevada Biologically, a woodland is differentiated from a forest. ... Species Sus barbatus Sus bucculentus Sus cebifrons Sus celebensis Sus domesticus Sus heureni Sus philippensis Sus salvanius Sus scrofa Sus timoriensis Sus verrucosus Pigs are ungulates native to Eurasia collectively grouped under the genus Sus within the Suidae family. ... The village green in Stanford in the Vale, Oxfordshire, UK A village green is a common open area which is a part of a settlement. ...

As populations increased, the available land diminished as more strips were required. From the late Middle Ages onwards, a gradual movement towards consolidation took place as small plots were amalgamated into fewer but larger holdings, with a corresponding increase in the power of the landowners.

Open fields in England

Contrary to popular belief, not all areas of England had open-field farming in the medieval period. Parts of south-east England, notably parts of Essex and Kent retained a pre-Roman system of farming in small square enclosed fields. In much of west and north-west England, fields were similarly either never open, or early enclosed. The primary area of open field management was in the lowland areas of England in a broad swath from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire diagonally across England to the south, taking in parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, large areas of the Midlands, and most of south central England. This area was some of the most populous and profitable; it was also the main grain growing region (as opposed to pastoral farming). Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... Essex is a county in the East of England. ... Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. ... Principal sites in Roman Britain Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between 43 and 410 CE. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia. ... The White Yorkshire rose. ... Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the East Midlands of England. ... Norfolk (pronounced IPA: /nɔ:fək/) is a low-lying county in East Anglia in the east of southern England. ... Suffolk (pronounced SUF-fk) is a large traditional and administrative county in the East Anglia region of eastern England. ... Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs) is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. ... In general, the midlands of a territory are its central regions. ...

From as early as the 12th century, some open fields in Britain were being enclosed into individually owned fields. In Great Britain, the process sped up during the 15th and 16th centuries as sheep farming grew more profitable. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, the practice of enclosure was denounced by the Church and the government, particularly depopulating enclosure, and legislation was drawn up against it. However, the tide of elite opinion began to turn towards support for enclosure, and rate of enclosure increased in the seventeenth century. This led to a series of government acts addressing individual regions, which were given a common framework in the Inclosure Consolidation Act of 1801. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Species See text. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... A church building (or simply church) is a building used in Christian worship. ... The Inclosure Acts were a number of United Kingdom Acts of Parliament which inclosed common land in the country. ... The Union Jack, flag of the newly formed United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ...

Throughout the 19th century, the developments in Britain were exported across the world, and the various contributions made upon the working population by warfare and increased mechanization finally finished the open field system off. However, to this day there is still more communally managed open agricultural land in Continental Europe than in England. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The only atomic weapons ever used in war - the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945, effectively ending World War II. The bombs over Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki immediately killed over 120,000 people. ... Mechanization refers to the use of powered machinery to help a human operator in some task. ...

There is one village in England where the open field system continues to be used: the village of Laxton in Nottinghamshire. It is thought that its anomalous survival is due to two early 19th century landowners' inability to agree on how the land was to be inclosed, thus resulting in the perpetuation of the status quo. Nottinghamshire (abbreviated Notts) is an English county in the East Midlands, which borders South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Please also see inclosure. Inclosure (also commonly enclosure), refers to the process of subdivision of common lands for individual ownership. ...

External links and references

• http://travel.guardian.co.uk/activities/walking/story/0,7447,414838,00.html
• http://mahan.wonkwang.ac.kr/link/med/economy/agricul/laxsurv.html

• Oliver Rackham, The History of the Countryside (1986). (On Britain, primarily England)