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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0PLOS One

Meat, milk, wool and grain: The animal economy of medieval England (CE 400 to 1400)

  • Matilda Holmes1
  • David Orton2
  • Helena Hamerow3
  • Richard Thomas
  1. 1School of Heritage and Culture, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
  2. 2Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
  3. 3Institute of Archaeology, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
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Abstract

Much has been written about the animal economy of medieval England (CE 450–1500) but interpretation of the zooarchaeological record has been held back by reliance on artificial periodisation. This study reduces that reliance via a novel approach to data synthesis. A substantial zooarchaeological dataset compiled for the ‘Feeding Anglo-Saxon England’ project was investigated allowing a more detailed understanding of when change took place and in what form. Key patterns include: a continuation of Roman husbandry practices at some sites throughout the fifth century; an increase in wool production from the early seventh century; the use of dedicated draught cattle from the ninth century, peaking in the eleventh and mid-twelfth centuries, after which the demand for milk, beef and increasing use of horses for arable production caused the use of cattle for draught to decline.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{holmes2026meat,
  title = {{Meat, milk, wool and grain: The animal economy of medieval England (CE 400 to 1400)}},
  author = {Matilda Holmes and David Orton and Helena Hamerow and Richard Thomas},
  journal = {PLOS One},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0355965},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0355965},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Meat, milk, wool and grain: The animal economy of medieval England (CE 400 to 1400)
AU  - Matilda Holmes
AU  - David Orton
AU  - Helena Hamerow
AU  - Richard Thomas
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/02
JO  - PLOS One
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0355965
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0355965
AB  - Much has been written about the animal economy of medieval England (CE 450–1500) but interpretation of the zooarchaeological record has been held back by reliance on artificial periodisation. This study reduces that reliance via a novel approach to data synthesis. A substantial zooarchaeological dataset compiled for the ‘Feeding Anglo-Saxon England’ project was investigated allowing a more detailed understanding of when change took place and in what form. Key patterns include: a continuation of Roman husbandry practices at some sites throughout the fifth century; an increase in wool production from the early seventh century; the use of dedicated draught cattle from the ninth century, peaking in the eleventh and mid-twelfth centuries, after which the demand for milk, beef and increasing use of horses for arable production caused the use of cattle for draught to decline.
SN  - 1932-6203
ER  -