SOURCES ON THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH FARMING  OF THE XVI–XVII CENTURIES 

Mitrofanov Vladimir Petrovich, Doctor of historical science, professor, sub-department of general history and social science, Penza State University (40 Krasnaya street, Penza, Russia), vm@em-england.ru

942 055

10.21685/2072-3024-2017-4-2

Background. The national historiography of the agrarian history of England the late Middle Ages offers a much significant research. The interest of historians for the problem of farming begins in the second half of the XX century. However, analysis of the sources of the XVI–XVII centuries farmers has no been carried out yet. The aim of the article is to study the surviving written sources covering the economic activities of the same English farmers in the specified period.
Materials and methods. The implementation of research objectives has been achieved through the use of the dialectical method of knowledge of historical processes, including the principles of historicism, objectivity and system that revealed the content side of the issue, views and scientific approaches of historians on the sources of the history of English farming of the XVI – the first half of XVII centuries.
Results. The study of account books, diaries, treatises of contemporaries and some other narrative sources shows that in their content they are sufficiently representative in mapping business activities of individual farms, as well as, in part, of their daily lives. However, they poorly reflect the spread of farming on the territory of the English kingdom.
Conclusions. The Sources, though differentiated, to a certain extent make it possible to carry out a study of economic activities of the farmers in some regions and conduct a comparative analysis in relation to the period of the XVI–XVII centuries.

sources, farmers, modern treatises, diaries, account books, agronomic treatises

1. Rural economy in Yorkshire in 1641 being the farming and account books of Henry Best / ed. by G. Andrews ; Surtees Society. Publications. Vol. CLXVIII. – Edinburg : William Blackwood and Sons, 1857. – 185 p.
2. Robert Loder’s farm accounts / ed. by G. E. Fussell ; Camden Society. Third series. Vol. LIII. – London, 1936. – 200 p.
3. The Account book of a Kentish Estate 1611–1704 / ed. by Eleonor S. Lodge. – London, 1927. – 200 p.
4. Snell, F. J. A Devonshire Yeoman’s Diary I / F. J. Snell // Gleanings after time: chapters in social and domestic history / ed. by G. L. Apperson. – London : E. Stock, 1907. – P. 160–175.
5. Giles Moor’s Day Book / ed. by F. Stenton Eardley. – London : Macmillan & Co. Ltd, 1939. – 142 p.
6. The house and farm accounts of the Shuttleworths of Gawthorpe Hall, in the county of Lancaster. Part II / ed. by J. Harland ; Chetham Society. Vol. XLI. – London : Off. of Soc., 1856. – 472 p.
7. Naworth estate and household accounts 1648–1660 / ed. by C. Roy Hudleston ; Surtees Society. Publications. Vol. CLXVIII. – London. : Off. of Soc., 1958. – 247 p.
8. Skeat, W. W. Fitzherbert, Anthony, Sir, 1470–1538 / W. W. Skeat. – London : Trübner & Co, 1882. – 167 p.
9. Tusser, Th. The five hundred points of husbandry / Th. Tusser. – London : The English Dialect Society, 1882. – 167 p.
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