ABSTRACT
Medieval farmers sought first and foremost to ensure that their landholdings provided a means of sustenance, and wherever possible, at least by the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, surplus and profit. Medieval manure, at least that which was composed primarily of animal dung, was not seen as a source of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, but a source of heat and moisture. Lord's rights over the tenant's fold were recorded in Domesday Book, but generally references to manure and manuring in the early medieval period are rare. Agricultural treatises provided considerable practical advice to landowners and estate managers on how best to prepare and apply manure efficiently and effectively. The steaming manure pile must have been a common sight across the medieval English countryside. There can be no doubt that manure was seen first and foremost as an economic resource.
