Fachbereich Geschichtswissenschaft

Climate and ‘Migration’ in Carolingian Europe

My project focused on the impact of climate change and weather events on rural societies in Carolingian Europe. I was particularly interested in forms of migration and mobility related to environmental stress. A crucial aspect of this enquiry is the methodological problem of connecting paleo-environmental, archaeological, and written evidence in order to describe the dynamics of early medieval social-ecological systems. As part of a broader enquiry in the relationship between early medieval societies and mountainous environments, I have focussed more specifically on several regional case-studies that allow us to study the impact of changing temperatures and precipitation patterns on agro-pastoral systems and settlements. Within this project, I have produced a paper about Climate and farming in Carolingian Europe which mainly highlights and discusses methodological problems (JEEH 2019/3) and written a chapter of a forthcoming monograph about the uplands of north-west Europe between c. AD 650-1050.

For further information about Nicolas Schroeder, please click here.