Portrait of Britain: AD 1200

In the year 1200 Britain was in the middle of a spell of warm weather that had begun c.AD 900 and lasted to c.1300. This made possible the cultivation of land on higher ground, beyond the margins of previous habitation. Mixed farming was usual in lower-lying lands, though in much of Scotland, Wales and the north of England a pastoral economy predominated. Large areas of Britain were still covered by forest, and summer pollen counts were higher than they are today. Air quality was good, since industrial processes were minimal.

Throughout Britain, as over much of the European mainland, the population was steadily rising. This rise had been evident from the early eleventh century, and was to continue until around 1300, so that England's population doubled between c.1086 and c.1300, after which a decline set in. In AD 1200, the population was still below the peak of 3 million (or more) which historians have suggested for c.1300. The populations of Wales and Scotland in 1200 were sparse, probably well under half-a-million in each case.