Western Civilization

of agricultural villages, towns, and cities and an

increase in land under cultivation.

What accounted for this dramatic rise in popula-

tion? For one thing, conditions in Europe were more

settled and peaceful after the invasions of the early

Middle Ages had ended. Agricultural production also

rose dramatically after 1000. Without this increase in

food supplies, the greater population could never have

been sustained.

The New Agriculture

During the High Middle Ages, significant changes

occurred in the way Europeans farmed. In addition to

the improved growing conditions, another factor contrib-

uting to the increased production of food was the

expansion of arable land, achieved chiefly by clearing for-

ested areas for cultivation (see the box above). Land-

hungry peasants cut down trees and drained swamps. By

the thirteenth century, the total acreage used for farming

in Europe was greater than at any time before or since.

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES Technological changes also fur-

thered the development of agriculture. Many of these

depended on the use of iron, which was mined in vari-

ous areas of Europe. Iron was in demand to make

swords and armor as well as scythes, axheads, and hoes

for use on farms and saws, hammers, and nails for use

in building. Iron was crucial for making the carruca

(kuh-ROO-kuh), a heavy, wheeled plow strong enough

to turn over the dense clay soil north of the Alps and

allow for drainage.

The Elimination of Medieval Forests

One of the interesting environmental changes of the

Middle Ages was the elimination of millions of acres of

forest to create new areas of arable land and to meet

the demand for timber. Timber was used as fuel and to

build houses, mills of all kinds, bridges, fortresses, and

ships. Incredible quantities of wood were burned to

make charcoal for the iron forges. The clearing of the

forests caused the price of wood to skyrocket by the

thirteenth century. This document from 1140 illustrates

the process. Suger, the abbot of Saint-Denis, needed

35-foot beams for the construction of a new church. His

master carpenters told him that there were no longer

any trees big enough in the area around Paris and that

he would have to go far afield to find such tall trees.

This selection recounts his efforts.

Suger’s Search for Wooden Beams

On a certain night, when I had returned from

celebrating Matins [a prayer service], I began to think

in bed that I myself should go through all the forests

of these parts.... Quickly disposing of all duties and

hurrying up in the early morning, we hastened with

our carpenters, and with the measurements of the

beams, to the forest called Iveline. When we traversed

our possession in the Valley of Chevreuse we

summoned... the keepers of our own forests as well as

men who know about the other woods, and questioned

them under oath whether we would find there, no

matter with how much trouble, any timbers of that

measure. At this they smiled, or rather would have

laughed at us if they had dared; they wondered

whether we were quite ignorant of the fact that

nothing of the kind could be found in the entire

region, especially since Milon, the Castellan of

Chevreuse,... had left nothing unimpaired or

untouched that could be used for palisades and

bulwarks while he was long subjected to wars both by

our Lord the King and Amaury de Montfort. We

however—scorning whatever they might say—began,

with the courage of our faith as it were, to search

through the woods; and toward the first hour we found

one timber adequate to the measure. Why say more?

By the ninth hour or sooner, we had, through the

thickets, the depths of the forest and the dense,

thorny tangles, marked down twelve timbers (for so

many were necessary) to the astonishment of all.

Q What does Suger’s search for wooden beams reveal

about the environmental problems of the Middle

Ages?

Source: FromAbbot Suger on the Abbey Church of St. Denis and Its Art Treasures, edited and translated by Erwin Panofsky. Copyrightª1946, renewed 1973 by Princeton University Press.

Reprinted with permission of Dr. O. S. Panofsky.

200 Chapter 9The Recovery and Growth of European Society in the High Middle Ages

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