Droughts in medieval and early modern England, part 2: Impacts

A barley crop in Sheringham, Norfolk showing signs of drought stress brought on by the dry conditions experienced in the growing season 2011. As with modern varieties, old barley varieties were liable to suffer from drought

Droughts in medieval and early modern England, part 1: The evidence

The extreme conditions of the summer season in 2018 in England gave rise to comparisons with earlier drought events. Using the information provided by documentary records, such as chronicles, accounts and diaries, this paper investigates extreme summer droughts in the period 1200–1700, and their impacts under the conditions of natural climate variability and before the provision of modern infrastructure