Documentary evidence of historical floods and extreme rainfall events in Sweden 1400–1800

Retsö, Dag

doi:10.5194/hess-19-1307-2015

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(45 reference statements)

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“…This consists of reading notes from different sources and interpret how these notes may be transformed into the index. For this study, we already had index of wet years (Retsö 2015) and complimented it with indexed notices concerning droughts.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Documentary evidence of droughts in Sweden between the Middle Ages and c1800

Retsö¹,

Leijonhufvud²

2020

Preprint

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Abstract. This article explores documentary evidence of droughts in Sweden in the pre-instrumental period (1400–1800). The database has been developed using contemporary sources such as private and official correspondence letters, diaries, almanac notes, manorial accounts, and weather data compilations. The primary purpose is to utilize hitherto unused documentary data as an input for an index that can be useful for comparisons on a larger European scale. The survey shows that eight sub-periods can be considered as particularly struck by summer droughts with concomitant harvest failures and great social impacts in Sweden. That is the case with 1634–1641, 1652–1657, 1665–1670, 1677–1684, 1746–1750, 1757–1767, 1771–1776 and 1780–1783 and 1641–1646. Among these, 1652 and 1657 stand out as particularly troublesome. A number of data for dry summers are also found for the middle decades of the 15th century and the 1550s.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Documentary evidence of droughts in Sweden between the Middle Ages and c1800

Retsö¹,

Leijonhufvud²

2020

Preprint

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“…A wet winter or spring affected the autumn rye negatively, and it was thus especially suitable in the eastern Swedish climate with colder winters and generally drier conditions. In these areas, autumn rye gave higher yields than spring rye and was therefore a rational choice (Palm 2005).…”

Section: Crop Transitions and Arable Fields Expansion Seventeenth Tomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Instead, a more likely explanation can be found in the rising population. According to Lennart Andersson Palm the population in both Mörlunda and Högsby grew by 122% and 132% between 1620 and 1699 (Palm 2000). This quite substantial population growth should have been accompanied by a need for a more extensive food supply.…”

Section: Crop Transitions and Arable Fields Expansion Seventeenth Tomentioning

confidence: 99%

The co-development of agriculture and flood–related problems in the parishes of Högsby and Mörlunda, Sweden, 1600–1800

Jacobsson

2020

Water Hist

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This paper analyses the development of flood related problems in two parishes in southeastern Sweden—Högsby and Mörlunda—during the period 1500–1800. The questions asked concern the role of the larger development of the agricultural production in the expansion of flooding problems during the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and also investigates how this relationship was perceived by the local inhabitants. This is done through an analysis of the development of agriculture in the area using historical maps, combined with a study of written source material such as parish records and court protocols. The river Emån which flows through these parishes had long been a vital resource in the cattle–based economy of the studied parishes. This relationship turned more problematic by the turn of the eighteenth century due to the introduction of autumn rye into the agricultural scheme, prolonging the period of flood risk exposure for the arable crops. Combined with arable field expansion during the eighteenth century, this increased the sensitivity of agriculture to flooding. This development was not apparent in the discourse of the local inhabitants by the end of the eighteenth century, who instead interpreted increasing flooding problems in relation to existing water rights principles. These emphasized the more direct effects of human and natural obstructions in the river channel. The limits of historical memory as well as the necessities of agricultural development colored the local interpretation. Such processes on a general level were also closely inter–linked with the large–scale institutional changes of the period.

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“…Although Lyse was likely influenced by the English monks who settled there, this form for land reclamation was extensively practiced in Scandinavia: Northern Frisia (Germany), which was then part of Denmark, being a particularly striking example. However, it was also common in Europe in general, and was especially important in the Netherlands (Curtis & Campopiano, ; Jakobsson, ; Øye & Myhre, , p. 330) Floods occurred (Retsö, ; Soens, ), but does not seem to have been common, at least not on a yearly basis, and generally not in urban settlements. Scandinavia's relatively harsh winters also set it apart from many other areas in the world.…”

Section: The Scandinavian Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

Between sea and river: Water in medieval Scandinavian towns

Poulsen

Gundersen

2019

WIREs Water

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The general climate and topography of medieval Scandinavia, with high levels of rainfall and snow on a yearly basis, combined with an abundance of lakes, rivers, and smaller streams, meant that freshwater was easily available for most people. In this paper, we present an overview of how people interacted with water-both freshwater and salt water-in medieval (ca. 1050-ca. 1500) Scandinavia's towns. By describing how the supply of freshwater was organized and what it was used for, how shipping and fishing was regulated, and the use and impact of watermills, we are able to identify some actors and attempt to discern their motivation when they engaged in a wide range of activities involving both fresh and salt water in medieval Scandinavia. We argue that understanding water and water management in medieval Scandinavia necessitates a different approach compared to more arid regions, an approach which considers water as simply one resource among many, deeply embedded in a wider economic web.

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Documentary evidence of historical floods and extreme rainfall events in Sweden 1400–1800

Cited by 19 publications

References 41 publications

Documentary evidence of droughts in Sweden between the Middle Ages and c1800

Documentary evidence of droughts in Sweden between the Middle Ages and c1800

The co-development of agriculture and flood–related problems in the parishes of Högsby and Mörlunda, Sweden, 1600–1800

Between sea and river: Water in medieval Scandinavian towns

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