"sometimed" - 1 õppematerjal

The Saxons & Vikings

In time the settlements became villages. Villages were self-sufficient. In the village there was also a forge where a blacksmith mended tools & weapons. There was also a wheelwright's workshop & mill. There was very little trading at that time. Roads were bad. Agriculture changed. The Celts kept small square fields, they used a light plough drawn by an animal or 2 people. Anglo-Saxons introduced a heavier plough, it required 6-8 oxen to pull it. That's why the arable land was divided into 2 or sometimed 3 fields. The fields into long thin strips. The strips were scattered over the field, so everybody had strips on both good & bad land. In the field all strip-owners had to grow the same crop. The common crops were wheat, rye, oats & barley. They also grew peas, beans & lentils. Each family had a number of strips, oxen were shared, so the villagers worked more closely together. They had no fertilizers. The method they used is known as forced rotation of crops.