Råg och rön : Om mat, människor och landskapsförändringar i norra Småland, ca 1550-1700

Sammanfattning: Why did the three-field system replace annual cropping in the north-eastern part of thr county of Jönköping? Three hypotheses are presented, of which only the first is verified. The first hypothesis concerns the 'rye-bread culture' which was widely spread in southern and eastern Sweden. In the medieval period, until 1550, rye was mainly sowed through slash-and-burn cultivation. In the 1550s the cultivation of rye was transferred from outlying land to the enclosed infields. The new food habits resulted in major physical changes in the cultivated landscape. In the western part of the county the system of annual cropping remained, as rye, due to climatic conditions - was cultivated in the spring. Formerly spring has been considered the most labour intensive part of the agricultural year. The second hypothesis was that three-course rotation was initiated in order to distribute the agricultural work more equally between spring and autumn. However, this theory was dismissed since it was evident that autumn - not spring - already ws the most intensive season. The third hypothesis, that field in fallow was introduces in order to expand the area for grazing, could also be dismissed as it was evident that the three-course rotation resulted in a shortage of pastyre. during the period 1650-1700 a process towards a more dynamic landscape can be seen in ehich over-exploited pastures were restored. A landscape with enclosed pastures began to develop, a landscape which became typical for Småland in the 18th and 19th centuries. The changes in the physical landscape were not externally initiated but rather the farmers' own strategy to adapt the landscape to the course of production.