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