Water and Society in Early Medieval Italy, AD 400–1000

by Paolo Squatriti

This book offers an original discussion of an element--water--and its relationship with people. In particular it shows how early medieval Italian societies coped with the problems of having too much or too little water, and analyzes their use of it. Such treatment illuminates both the workings of postclassical societies and of the environments in which these societies lived. Domestic usage, bathing, irrigation and drainage, fishing, and milling all receive full coverage.

Genres: History, Medieval

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Vincent Fong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting little book on the concept and hardware about water in the Medieval times (not restricted in Italy tho)

[Emma Kathleen Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive and innovative piece of scholarship!

[W.C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book looks into the history of the social effects of the gradual privitization of fresh water in the early Medieval period. Squatriti mines literally hundreds of original sources and reconstructs the likely facts (the record is too fragmented for absolute certainty). There is much here about Medieval economics, about construction of mills, and even about why Millers became reviled characters in the literature of the period (think Chaucer). This is academic writing, not popularization, but if the period interests you you should get this.