The vegetation and land use histories of two farms in Iceland: settlement, monasticism, and tenancy
2022
Riddell, Scott J. | Egill Erlendsson, | Eddudóttir, Sigrún Dögg | Guðrún Gísladóttir, | Steinunn Kristjánsdóttir,
Palaeoecological research in Iceland has rarely considered the environmental consequences of landlord-tenant relations and has only recently begun to investigate the impact of medieval monasticism on Icelandic environment and society. Through the medium of two tenant farm sites, this investigation seeks to discern whether or not monastic landlords were influencing resource exploitation and the land management practices of their tenants. In particular, sedimentary and phyto-social contexts were examined and set within a chronological and palaeoecological framework from the late 9th century down to the 16th century. How this relates to medieval European monasticism is also considered while the prevailing influences of climate and volcanism are acknowledged. Palaeoecological data shed light upon the process of occupation at the two farms during the settlement period, with resources and land use trajectories already well-established by the time they were acquired by monastic institutions. This suggests that the tenant farms investigated were largely unaffected ecologically by absorption into a manorial system overseen by monasticism. This could be a consequence of prevailing environmental contexts that inhibited the development of alternative agricultural strategies, or simply that a different emphasis with regard to resource exploitation was paramount.
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