Regional Warming, Deforestation, and the Medieval Military-Agricultural Complex

 Regional Warming, Deforestation, and the Medieval Military-Agricultural Complex

by Ed Doench

The 300-year Medieval Warming Period from 950 AD to 1250 AD led to longer and better growing seasons and began a cycle of agricultural and military interdependence. This Period coincided with a time of social and population growth, which led to increased demands upon agricultural production. While the existing agricultural technology had been sufficient up to this point, the increased demands could only be answered with technological innovations that would allow for more cropland to be put into production with increased efficiency. Increased agriculture required a revamping of the military forces needed to protect the farmers and their fields which in turn required newer technological innovations to answer this demand. The increased demand led to the increased use of iron and related technologies. Improved crop yields required protection from marauders, which led to the upgrading of military forces, which in turn placed additional demands upon agriculture.

The Medieval Warming Period was a regional phenomenon rather than a global one; many areas around the globe saw no noticeable change during this time, and a few even suffered some regional cooling. In Europe and the North Atlantic, however, the period from 950 AD to 1250 AD resulted in enough warming to generate longer and more fruitful growing seasons. Furthermore, more areas within the European continent became suitable for the growing of crops that had normally been limited to the southern regions.

To accommodate the extended growing seasons, it was necessary to make more land available for cultivation. This entailed two equally strenuous tasks -- clearing the dense northern forests and plowing the heavy, clay-like soil found in northern Europe. The key ingredient for both tasks – in fact, for the entire expansion in general – was iron. According to Spielvogel, it was iron which, “was in demand to make swords and armor as well as scythes, ax heads, new types of farming implements such as hoes and saws, hammers, and nails for building purposes” (Spielvogel 240). Iron was also forged into the plowshares on the new horse-drawn wheeled heavy plows that could turn heavy soils that traditional donkey-drawn scratch plows could not, and the traction-producing horseshoes worn by the horses.

Iron tended to be exorbitantly expensive in the quantities necessary for the new agriculture, which led to the development of entire communities devoted to agriculture; in this manner, an iron plow could “be purchased by the entire community” and “villagers shared their beasts” (Spielvogel 241). and “villagers shared their and other tools of the trade could be spread out. The centralization of agricultural production into these communities also allowed the efficient placement of new technologies of wind- and water-power, as well as the various agricultural support industries such as the blacksmiths who manufactured the new iron horseshoes, the foresters and charcoal makers who provided the timber and fuel, and even the weavers of cloth and the handlers of the teams of animals used in the labor.

Of course, not everyone was cut out to be a farmer or a member of the support industry. Even in an age of relative peace, there were always those for whom it was easier or preferable to take what they wanted rather than produce it for themselves. Protection of his people and the all-important fields fell upon the local lord, who would frequently find the need to upgrade and improve his military capabilities so that his men were not overmatched. This led to the development of both heavy infantry and heavy cavalry. Since both types of forces also required precious iron, no one lord could afford to equip and support the number of troops necessary to ensure the safety of his demesne. This led to a general acceptance of feudalism as a social structure; the costs of equipping a portion of the troops could be borne by underlings who would be provided lands in exchange for a pledge of military service and support as needed.

Since the soldiers were busy protecting the lord’s interests, they could not, of course, be regularly involved in the production of food. Their support thus placed additional demands upon agricultural production. The families of the peasants who worked the fields gradually grew larger as more and more children were produced to assist in the farmwork. Of course, these additional mouths also needed to be fed. In many cases, the only way to provide for this support was to expand the lord’s demesne, either by clearing and preparing increasingly scarce virgin territory or by taking over territory already claimed by and being worked for another lord.

The improved growing conditions made possible by the Medieval Warming Period created an agricultural frenzy that spawned numerous subsidiary technologies and social concepts. An increased demand for raw materials – particularly timber and iron – needed to support such agricultural expansion led to the development of agriculture-oriented communities, a feudal social structure, and heavy infantry and cavalry. These new developments, in turn, fed back into the system by requiring additional agricultural support to maintain them.

Works Cited

Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. Cengage Learning, 2018.