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IMC 2016: Sessions

Session 624: Productive Ground: Place-Names and the Landscapes of Food Provision

Tuesday 5 July 2016, 11.15-12.45

Sponsor:Institute for Name-Studies, University of Nottingham
Organiser:John Baker, Institute for Name-Studies, University of Nottingham
Moderator/Chair:Jayne Carroll, Institute for Name-Studies, University of Nottingham
Paper 624-aThe Seasoned Traveller: Place-Name Evidence for Medieval Salt Transport
(Language: English)
Eleanor Rye, Institute for Name-Studies, University of Nottingham
Index terms: Economics - Trade, Language and Literature - Old English, Onomastics
Paper 624-bField-Names, Food, and Farming Practices in Medieval Nottinghamshire
(Language: English)
Rebecca Gregory, Institute for Name-Studies, University of Nottingham
Index terms: Language and Literature - Middle English, Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Onomastics
Paper 624-cA Balanced Diet?: Evidence for Hunting, Gathering, and Farming in Shropshire Place-Names
(Language: English)
John Baker, Institute for Name-Studies, University of Nottingham
Index terms: Language and Literature - Old English, Onomastics
Abstract

Medieval food production and its associated activities and industries have left a significant linguistic legacy in the English landscape, in the form of place-names. These contain numerous references to animal husbandry, crop cultivation, and so on; to a very considerable degree, field-names reflect the agricultural concerns and farming practices of predominantly rural communities; and England's medieval infrastructure, parts of which are best studied through onomastic research, must partly be a response to the movement of food and livestock. This session explores ways in which place- and field-names across the Midlands can help us identify and characterise different elements in the chain of food production and supply.