Table Of Contents:

List of illustrations/figures ix

Figure sources xiii

List of tables xvii
Acknowledgements xix
Introduction 1(8)

PART ONE AGRICULTURAL MILLING IN ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL SOCIETIES

Milling technology in the ancient world 9(42)

Introduction 9(10)

Rotary handmills 19(3)

Beast mills 22(2)

Compartmented waterwheels 24(5)

Vertical-wheeled watermills 29(5)

Horizontal-wheeled watermills 34(8)

Was technological stagnation a characteristic of the ancient world? 42(5)

Conclusion 47(4)

Milling technology in the first millennium CE 51(34)

Introduction 51(1)

The sources 52(2)

China 54(7)

Islamic societies 61(8)

Italy 69(4)

England 73(5)

Ireland 78(4)

Conclusion 82(3)

Tide mills and windmills in the middle ages 85(43)

Introduction 85(1)

Tide mills 86(15)

Horizontal windmills 101(6)

Vertical windmills 107(15)

Tower mills 122(2)

Conclusion 124(4)

The costs of construction and maintenance of medieval watermills and windmills 128(26)

Introduction 128(1)

Responsibilities of lords and tenants for mill maintenance 129(4)

Waterpowered grain mills 133(8)

Fulling mills 141(2)

Tide mills 143(2)

Windmills 145(7)

Conclusion 152(2)

The role of the monasteries in the development of milling in medieval England 154(47)

Introduction 154(5)

The role of monasticism in the ``reintroduction'' of the vertical-wheeled watermill to Western Europe 159(6)

Milling monopolies and lordly control 165(12)

Monastic mill construction, innovation and profitability in medieval England 177(18)

Conclusion 195(6)

PART TWO INDUSTRIAL MILLING IN THE MIDDLE AGES

Was there an industrial revolution in the middle ages based on water-power? 201(32)

Introduction 201(6)

The early history of industrial milling 207(5)

The industrial use of water-power in the middle ages 212(14)

Summary of findings from the larger sample 226(4)

Conclusion 230(3)

Medieval European industrial mills 233(30)

Introduction 233(6)

Malt mills 239(2)

Hemp mills 241(2)

Fulling mills 243(5)

Tanning mills 248(3)

Forge mills 251(4)

Tool-sharpening mills 255(2)

Sawmills 257(3)

Conclusion 260(3)

Medieval English industrial mills 263(15)

Introduction 263(2)

Documented industrial mills 265(6)

Undocumented industrial mills 271(5)

Conclusion 276(2)

The medieval Welsh fulling industry 278(27)

Introduction 278(2)

Carus-Wilson and the English fulling industry 280(4)

Ian Jack's gazetteer of Welsh fulling mills 284(1)

Structure of the Welsh mechanized fulling industry 285(4)

Analysis of Welsh fulling mill rental data 289(6)

The relative profitability of mechanized fulling in medieval England and Wales 295(3)

The changing structure of the Welsh fulling industry 298(2)

Conclusion 300(5)

CONCLUSION

The social shaping of milling technology in the pre-modern period 305(96)

Introduction 305(3)

Technological systems and sociotechnical networks 308(18)

Do mills have politics? 326(8)

Conclusion 334(5)

APPENDICES

Appendix A Industrial Mills in Eurasia and North Africa, 20 to 1600 CE 339(60)

Appendix B Selected pre-modern industrial mills by country, 20 to 1600 CE 399(2)
Bibliography 401(18)
Index 419