What did medieval peasants do on a farm? Some documents from the period offer insights into the agricultural activities throughout the year. One of these works was the Liber ruralium commodorum, written by Pietro de’ Crescenzi around 1304-09. This treatise about agriculture offered advice on all kinds of things to be done on the medieval farm, ranging from beekeeping to winemaking, and includes a chapter detailing a monthly calendar of tasks.
This work became very popular in the later Middle Ages, with numerous manuscripts and print versions coming out. These illustrations, from a manuscript made around 1475, show the ‘Labours of the Months’ that medieval peasants did around the farm during a typical year.
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