Editing Open-field system (section)

{{Short description|Prevalent ownership and land use structure in medieval agriculture}}
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[[Image:Plan mediaeval manor.jpg|thumb|300px|Generic map of a medieval [[Manorialism|manor]], showing strip farming. The mustard-colored areas are part of the '''[[demesne]]''', the [[hatching|hatched]] areas part of the '''[[glebe]]'''. William R. Shepherd, ''Historical Atlas'', 1923]]
The '''open-field system''' was the prevalent [[Agriculture in the Middle Ages|agricultural system]] in much of Europe during the [[Middle Ages]] and lasted into the 20th century in Russia, [[Iran]], and [[Turkey]].<ref>Keddie, Nicki R. ''Iran. Religion, Politics and Society: Collected Essays'' London: Routledge, 1980, pp. 186–187</ref> Each [[Manorialism|manor]] or village had two or three large fields, usually several hundred acres each, which were divided into many narrow strips of land. The strips or [[selion]]s were cultivated by [[peasant]]s, often called tenants or [[serfdom|serfs]]. The holdings of a manor also included woodland and pasture areas for common usage and fields belonging to the lord of the manor and the religious authorities, usually [[Roman Catholics]] in medieval Western Europe. The farmers customarily lived in separate houses in a [[nucleated village]] with a much larger manor house and church nearby. The open-field system necessitated co-operation among the residents of the manor.

The [[Lord of the Manor]], his officials, and a [[manorial court]] administered the manor and exercised jurisdiction over the peasantry. The Lord levied rents and required the peasantry to work on his personal lands, called a [[demesne]].<ref>[[Grenville Astill|Astill, Grenville]] and Grant, Annie, eds. ''The Countryside of Medieval England'' Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1988, pp.23, 64</ref>

In medieval times, little land was owned outright. Instead, generally the lord had rights given to him by the king, and the tenant rented land from the lord. Lords demanded rents and [[Manual labour|labour]] from the tenants, but the tenants had firm user rights to cropland and [[common land]] and those rights were passed down from generation to generation. A medieval lord could not evict a tenant nor hire labour to replace him without legal cause. Most tenants likewise were not free without penalty to depart the manor for other locations or occupations. The rise of capitalism and the [[Quia Emptores|concept of land as a commodity to be bought and sold]] led to the gradual demise of the open-field system.<ref>Kulikoff, Allan ''From British Peasants to Colonial American Farmers'' Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000, p. 11</ref> The transition took place over several centuries, especially after the 15th, in the process known as [[enclosure]] in England. France, Germany, and other northern European countries had systems similar to England, although open fields generally endured longer on the continent. 

Some elements of the open-field system were practised by early settlers in the [[New England]] region of the United States.<ref>Ault, W. O. ''Open-Field Farming in Medieval England'' London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1972, pp. 77–78</ref><ref>[[Sumner Chilton Powell|Powell, Sumner Chilton]]. (1963). ''[[Puritan Village: The Formation of a New England Town]].''  Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, CT 215pp. {{ISBN|0-8195-6014-6}}</ref>