1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910824593403321

Autore

Squatriti Paolo <1963->

Titolo

Landscape and change in early medieval Italy : chestnuts, economy, and culture / / Paolo Squatriti

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 2013

ISBN

1-107-24172-3

1-139-89155-3

1-316-63320-9

1-107-24874-4

1-107-25040-4

1-107-25123-0

1-107-24791-8

1-139-54075-0

1-107-24957-0

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xiii, 236 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Disciplina

712.0937

Soggetti

Chestnut - Italy - History - To 1500

Chestnut - Social aspects - Italy - History - To 1500

Chestnut - Economic aspects - Italy - History - To 1500

Landscapes - Italy - History - To 1500

Landscape changes - Italy - History - To 1500

Land use - Italy - History - To 1500

Italy History 476-1268

Italy Economic conditions

Italy Environmental conditions

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction: Trees, Woods, and Chestnuts in Early Medieval Italy -- A Natural History of the Chestnut -- The Triumph of a Tree -- The Poetics of the Chestnut in the Early Middle Ages -- Chestnuts in Early Medieval Campania -- Chestnuts in the Po Valley -- Conclusion: Giovanni Pascoli and the Old Chestnut -- Glossary.



Sommario/riassunto

This innovative environmental history of the long-lived European chestnut tree and its woods offers valuable new perspectives on the human transition from the Roman to the medieval world in Italy. Integrating evidence from botanical and literary sources, individual charters and case studies of specific communities, the book traces fluctuations in the size and location of Italian chestnut woods to expose how early medieval societies changed their land use between the fourth and eleventh centuries, and in the process changed themselves. As the chestnut tree gained popularity in late antiquity and became a valuable commodity by the end of the first millennium, this study brings to life the economic and cultural transition from a Roman Italy of cities, agricultural surpluses and markets to a medieval Italy of villages and subsistence farming.