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If you call the introduction of feudalism a revolution in agriculture, then there was a revolution, but generally a revolution is not a movement backwards. The introduction of the feudal system moved people from towns to the country. The king, his retainers, family depended on the income from landed property. The country estate was known as manor. A manor varied in size according to the wealth of the lord. Great nobles might have several manors. England during the period following the Norman conquest contained more than 9,000 manorial estates. Of the arable land of the manor the lord reserved as much as he needed for his own use. This was called his "demesne" or domain. The rest of the land he allotted to the peasants who were his tenants. They cultivated their holdings in common and these were spilt into a large number of small strips and separated by banks of unploughed turf. Farming methods were very backwards. Farmers did not know how to enrich the land or to rotate the crops. Manor lands were farmed using the three field system. One field was devoted to winter crops, another summer crops, and a third was fallow. Farm tools and implements were few and clumsy. Wooden ploughs only scratched the ground and furrowing was done with a hand implement that was like a large rake. So, to answer your question I do not feel that there was a revolution in agriculture and thus, two effects didn't take place. As with many things in the 1,000 years of history that this time consisted of there wasn't much development done in science, farming, or learning.

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The Medieval period was not one of total darkness. Historians see this time as one of great change and innovation. The agricultural revolution was a major change in how farming was done in Europe. It was the agricultural revolution that brought about:

  • crop rotation (called 3 field farming). This meant a huge increase in available food
  • the use of heavy plows. This too made huge changes in how crops were planted because it could cut very deep into the soil.
  • the development of the horseshoe meant horses could be used in the wet cold fields of Northern Europe, instead of oxen. During the Medieval period, big strong war horses were bred with farm horses. The horses could plough a field faster than oxen, required fewer because they had stronger pulling power which all resulted in about a 30% increase in peasant productivity.
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14y ago

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