Annual chronologies are available here for each of the principal grains:
Winter grains:
- Wheat
- Lesser winter grains (i.e. rye, winter barley, winter oats, maslin [wheat & rye mixed],
and beremancorn [rye & winter barley mixed])
Spring grains:
- Barley
- Oats
The chronologies have been created using the methodology specified in “Data discussion”: How the annual chronologies have been created from the raw data. They are of two types. The regional chronologies are weighted to take account of the changing regional coverage of the dataset. The manorial chronologies are un-weighted. The former, therefore are the more reliable for indicating long-term trends, the latter for highlighting annual variations. Both sets of chronologies are of yields per seed gross of tithe but net of seed and are indexed on the means for the years 1270-1429, when data coverage is fullest. The chronologies are available at annual resolution and as 5-year and 31-year centred moving averages. For each crop, the number of yield observations available for a given year is also specified.
The corresponding sale price that is given for each grain is taken from:
D. L. Farmer, ‘Prices and wages’, 716-817 in H. E. Hallam, ed., The agrarian history of England and Wales, Volume II, 1042-1350, Cambridge, 1988, 788-91; ‘Prices and wages, 1350-1500’, 431-525 in E. Miller, ed., The agrarian history of England and Wales, Volume III, 1348-1500, Cambridge, 1991, 502-5.
Since there was an inverse relationship between yields and prices, and yields influenced prices during the year following the harvest, all prices have been inverted and advanced one year to make them as directly comparable as possible with the chronologies of yields. Like the yields, the prices have also been indexed on the mean for the years 1270-1429.
Annual yields and annual prices are also given as a percentage of their respective means for the previous 31 years. This is a simple but effective method of gauging the extent to which yields and/or prices deviated from the established average and, in the case of prices, controls for long-term changes in the supply and value of money.
The graphs:
Graphs of all the yield chronologies are displayed below. Their titles should be self-explanatory. For each crop and most combinations of crops graphs are available of the indexed yield (including number of yield observations), the percentage yield compared with the percentage price (in this case based upon centred means), and the correlation coefficient (for moving 25-year periods) of the percentage yield to the percentage price. A choice is usually available between graphs spanning the entire period 1211-1492 and the shorter period 1270-1429 when the available data are fullest and most continuous.
Graph 1 Wheat (regional) yield 1211-1492
Graph 2 Wheat (regional) yield 1270-1429
Graph 3 Wheat (manorial) % yield & wheat % price 1230-1479
Graph 4 Wheat (manorial) % yield & wheat % price 1270-1429
Graph 5 Correlation % wheat yield to % wheat price 1250-1469
Graph 6 Rye etc (manorial) yield 1270-1439
Graph 7 Rye etc (manorial) yield 1270-1429
Graph 8 Rye etc (manorial) % yield & rye % price 1240-1419
Graph 9 Rye etc (manorial) % yield & rye % price 1270-1419
Graph 10 Correlation % Rye etc yield to % rye price 1250-1409
Graph 11 Winter grains (manorial) yield 1211-1492
Graph 12 Winter grains (manorial) yield 1270-1429
Graph 13 Winter grains (manorial) % yield & winter grains % price 1220-1479
Graph 14 Winter grains (manorial) % yield & winter grains % price 1270-1429
Graph 15 Correlation % wintergrains yield to % wintergrains price 1230-1469
Graph 16 Barley (regional) yield 1211-1492
Graph 17 Barley (regional) yield 1270-1429
Graph 18 Barley (manorial) % yield & barley % price 1230-1479
Graph 19 Barley (manorial) % yield & barley % price 1270-1429
Graph 20 Correlation barley yield to barley price 1240-1469
Graph 21 Oats (regional) yield 1211-1492
Graph 22 Oats (regional) yield 1270-1429
Graph 23 Oats (manorial) % yield & oats % price 1230-1479
Graph 24 Oats (manorial) % yield & oats % price 1270-1429
Graph 25 Correlation % oats yield to % oats price 1240-1469
Graph 26 Spring grains (regional) yield 1211-1492
Graph 27 Spring grains (regional) yield 1270-1429
Graph 28 Spring grains (manorial) % yield & spring grains % price 1230-1479
Graph 29 Spring grains (manorial) % yield & spring grains % price 1270-1429
Graph 30 Correlation % springgrains yield to % spring grains price 1240-1469
Graph 31 Winter & Spring grains (manorial) yields 1211-1492
Graph 32 Winter & Spring grains (manorial) yields 1270-1429
Graph 33 Winter & Spring grains (manorial) yields 1211-1492 5-year means
Graph 34 Winter & Spring grains (manorial) yields 1270-1429 5-year means
Graph 35 Winter & Spring grains (manorial) % yields 1240-1479
Graph 36 Winter & Spring grains (manorial) % yields 1270-1429
Graph 37 Correlation Winter grains % yield to spring grains % yield 1240-1469
Graph 38 Correlation winter & spring grains % yields to % winter & spring grains % price 1240-1469
Graph 39 Wheat, barley, & oats (regional) YPS 1211-1492
Graph 40 Wheat, barley, & oats (regional) yields 1270-1429
Graph 41 Wheat, barley, & oats (regional) yields 1220-1479 31-year means
Graph 42 Wheat, rye etc, barley, & oats (manorial) yields as % 31-year means 1230-1479
Graph 43 Wheat, rye etc, barley, & oats (manorial) yields as % 31 year averages 1270-1429
Graph 44 Correlations % yields (wheat, rye etc., barley, & oats) to % prices 1240-1469
Graph 45 Correlations between % yields wheat, rye etc, barley, & oats 1250-1469
Graph 46 All grains (regional) yields 1211-1492
Graph 47 All grains (regional) yields 1270-1429
Graph 48 All grains (manorial) % yield & all grains % price 1230-1479
Graph 49 All grains (manorial) % yield & all grains % price 1270-1429
Graph 50 Correlation all grains % yield to all grains % price 1240-1469
