This volume brings together a series of case studies on the social and economic interaction
and organisation in the medieval and early modern European countryside. In particular,
it focuses on rural and smaller trade and markets that have remained relatively underexposed
so far. It provides comprehensive presentations of new research on rural socio-economic
interactions and networks, and how these are integrated into regional, trans-regional
and even global exchange systems. The volume is characterised by an interdisciplinary
scope and a broad geographical range, and provides new insights into the diversities
and complexities of trade and rural landscape organisation. The exchange of goods
and services were integrated in cultural patterns and social strategies, which were
part of the mechanisms of regionalisation and the formation of common cultures and
identities. Markets and trading places were also important in terms of noneconomic
aspects of society, with different types of social ties and networks, all essential
components for dissemination of innovation and ideas. The volume investigates who
benefitted, and who controlled the trade. The more or less unresolved question of
how we can identify these smaller and informal trading places is a central topic of
discussion in this volume.Presented research suggests a considerably higher complexity
in social and economic organisations and networks in rural areas than has previously
been assumed. Both on local and regional as well as temporal scales. Local and regional
differences in organisation and trade networks can highlight different modes of social
organisation. Recognising how rural trade and markets were organised, and why, is
fundamental for an understanding of the complexities of societies and regional variations
in Europe as a whole.
