Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Home
  1. Home
  2. Search

Refine search

Refine search

Access:
Content type:
Publication date:
Apply
Subject: Show more
Journals Show more
Publishers: Show more
Societies Show more
Series: Show more
Collections: Show more

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

55 results

Page 1 of 3

  • 1 - Weeds, Nature, and Empire
  • Paolo Squatriti, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • Book: Weeds and the Carolingians
  • Published online: 02 June 2022
  • Print publication: 09 June 2022, pp 27-52
    • Chapter
      • You have access
    • PDF
    • HTML
    • Export citation
  • View extract

    Summary

    Discusses the Carolingian empire within the context of historical empires that altered the composition and populations of plants within their territories.

  • 4 - The Worst of Weeds
  • Paolo Squatriti, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • Book: Weeds and the Carolingians
  • Published online: 02 June 2022
  • Print publication: 09 June 2022, pp 101-128
  • View extract

    Summary

    In Frankish Europe, some “herbs” seemed more consistently evil than others. This is evident in a curious poem in an anonymous collection of lyrics from the ninth century (judging by the sole manuscript’s handwriting) that recounts the pleasures and dangers of an incongruous pair, navigation and agriculture. The poem is didactic, so uses a large number of obscure, technical Latin words for the benefit of learners.

Weeds and the Carolingians
  • Weeds and the Carolingians
  • Empire, Culture, and Nature in Frankish Europe, AD 750–900
  • Paolo Squatriti
  • Published online: 02 June 2022
  • Print publication: 09 June 2022
  • View description
    Why did weeds matter in the Carolingian empire? What was their special significance for writers in eighth- and ninth-century Europe and how was this connected with the growth of real weeds? In early medieval Europe, unwanted plants that persistently appeared among crops created extra work, reduced productivity, and challenged theologians who believed God had made all vegetation good. For the first time, in this book weeds emerge as protagonists in early medieval European history, driving human farming strategies and coloring people's imagination. Early medieval Europeans' effort to create agroecosystems that satisfied their needs and cosmologies that confirmed Christian accounts of vegetable creation both had to come to terms with unruly plants. Using diverse kinds of texts, fresh archaeobotanical data, and even mosaics, this interdisciplinary study reveals how early medieval Europeans interacted with their environments.

Page 1 of 3