Seasonal Settlement in the Medieval and Early Modern Countryside
For the first time seasonality is placed at the centre of the study of rural settlement. Using a Europe-wide approach, it provides a primer of examples, of techniques and of ideas for the identification and understanding of seasonal settlement. As such, it marks an important new step in the interpre...
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| Sprache: | Englisch |
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Sidestone Press
2026
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| Online-Zugang: | 2565-8883 |
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| description | For the first time seasonality is placed at the centre of the study of rural settlement. Using a Europe-wide approach, it provides a primer of examples, of techniques and of ideas for the identification and understanding of seasonal settlement. As such, it marks an important new step in the interpretation of the use of the countryside by historic communities linked to the annual passage of the year. The particular studies are introduced by an opening essay which draws wider conclusions about the study of seasonal settlement, followed by 31 papers by authors from all parts of Europe and beyond. By its very nature ephemeral, seasonal settlement in the medieval and early modern periods is less well researched than permanent settlement. It is often presumed that seasonal settlement is the result of transhumance, but it was only one facet of seasonal settlement. It was also necessitated by other forms of economic activity, such as fishing, charcoal-burning, or iron-smelting, including settlements of pastoralists such as nomads, drovers, herders as well as labourers’ huts within the farming context. The season a settlement was occupied varied from one activity to another and from one place to another - summer is good for grazing in many mountainous areas, but winter proved best for some industrial processes. While upland and mountainous settlements built of stone are easily recognised, those that use wood and more perishable materials are less obvious. Despite this, the settlements of nomadic pastoralists in both tundra and desert or of fishermen in the Baltic region are nonetheless identifiable. Yet for all that definitive recognition of seasonal settlement is rarely possible on archaeological grounds alone. Although material remains can be of particular importance, generally it is the combination of documentary information, ethnography, geographical context and palaeo-environmental data that provide frameworks for interpreting seasonal settlements. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-172254 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Sidestone Press |
| publisherStr | Sidestone Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1722542026-02-26T05:33:50Z Seasonal Settlement in the Medieval and Early Modern Countryside Dixon, Piers Theune, Claudia Seasonal settlement Medieval archaeology Post-medieval archaeology Rural settlement Medieval trade Domestic sites Settlement archaeology thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHD European history::NHDJ European history: medieval period, middle ages For the first time seasonality is placed at the centre of the study of rural settlement. Using a Europe-wide approach, it provides a primer of examples, of techniques and of ideas for the identification and understanding of seasonal settlement. As such, it marks an important new step in the interpretation of the use of the countryside by historic communities linked to the annual passage of the year. The particular studies are introduced by an opening essay which draws wider conclusions about the study of seasonal settlement, followed by 31 papers by authors from all parts of Europe and beyond. By its very nature ephemeral, seasonal settlement in the medieval and early modern periods is less well researched than permanent settlement. It is often presumed that seasonal settlement is the result of transhumance, but it was only one facet of seasonal settlement. It was also necessitated by other forms of economic activity, such as fishing, charcoal-burning, or iron-smelting, including settlements of pastoralists such as nomads, drovers, herders as well as labourers’ huts within the farming context. The season a settlement was occupied varied from one activity to another and from one place to another - summer is good for grazing in many mountainous areas, but winter proved best for some industrial processes. While upland and mountainous settlements built of stone are easily recognised, those that use wood and more perishable materials are less obvious. Despite this, the settlements of nomadic pastoralists in both tundra and desert or of fishermen in the Baltic region are nonetheless identifiable. Yet for all that definitive recognition of seasonal settlement is rarely possible on archaeological grounds alone. Although material remains can be of particular importance, generally it is the combination of documentary information, ethnography, geographical context and palaeo-environmental data that provide frameworks for interpreting seasonal settlements. 2026-02-25T05:30:10Z 2026-02-25T05:30:10Z 2026-02-24T16:08:16Z 2021 book 2565-8883 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/110087 9789464270099 9789464270105 9789464270112 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/172254 eng RURALIA open access image/jpeg https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/110087/1/9789464270099.pdf Sidestone Press Sidestone Press Academics 10.59641/qgv795js 10.59641/qgv795js f8b41c78-b5d0-411d-aa34-324bccd61c66 9789464270099 9789464270105 9789464270112 Sidestone Press Academics 370 Leiden open access |
| spellingShingle | Seasonal settlement Medieval archaeology Post-medieval archaeology Rural settlement Medieval trade Domestic sites Settlement archaeology thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHD European history::NHDJ European history: medieval period, middle ages Seasonal Settlement in the Medieval and Early Modern Countryside |
| title | Seasonal Settlement in the Medieval and Early Modern Countryside |
| title_full | Seasonal Settlement in the Medieval and Early Modern Countryside |
| title_fullStr | Seasonal Settlement in the Medieval and Early Modern Countryside |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seasonal Settlement in the Medieval and Early Modern Countryside |
| title_short | Seasonal Settlement in the Medieval and Early Modern Countryside |
| title_sort | seasonal settlement in the medieval and early modern countryside |
| topic | Seasonal settlement Medieval archaeology Post-medieval archaeology Rural settlement Medieval trade Domestic sites Settlement archaeology thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHD European history::NHDJ European history: medieval period, middle ages |
| topic_facet | Seasonal settlement Medieval archaeology Post-medieval archaeology Rural settlement Medieval trade Domestic sites Settlement archaeology thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHD European history::NHDJ European history: medieval period, middle ages |
| url | 2565-8883 |