Toil was the ruling fact of life in all medieval villages. No group understood that better than farmers, who usually comprised between 70 and 80 percent of the population. They were the backbone of every village's economy. They worked the entire year. By the time the first light of day crossed the horizon, oxen were yoked and plows were hitched as a cavalcade of farmers and their helpers set out down dirt roads to their fields. They would toil up one row and down the next until the setting sun freed them to return to their cottages for the night.

The economy of each village revolved around its agriculture. A variety of grains were the primary cash crops for most villagers, along with livestock, sheep that were shorn for their wool, chickens, and dairy cows that provided milk, cream, butter, and cheese. The hopes...