Talk:Aratrum

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Seems to have been cut-and-pasted from here. (The original source is public domain, but note the introduction.) Note that at that site they use incorrect HTML code for a separation character to mark the word root in the entry headings, which shows up in standards-compliant browsers as a cent symbol. --Brion VIBBER


 * Yes thats the source, I've got a physical copy as well which I used to verify that section was PD.

The Greek transliteration is pretty weird. What is "phktovn" supposed to be? -phma


 * They appear to have used a non-standard Greek font, with an eccentric character encoding. Your guess is as good as mine. Any Greek speakers here?


 * Later: it appears to be in the "Mounce" font for Greek: see http://www.teknia.com/Mounce/index.html for more details. And this, too: http://www.teknia.com/Mounce/greeklayoutmac.html

See also http://www.ibiblio.org/koine/greek/fonts/#fontEncoding


 * I'm the author of the website and transcriber of the Smith's Dictionary article; yes, public domain, fine with me. Note though that

(a) the site has moved, I've updated the URI above; (b) that's not a separation to mark the root, but a stress accent; and I've changed the character used; (c) Mounce was slightly nonstandard, and there were licensing problems; you'll find that the original article, and everything in Smith's Dictionary, now encodes Greek in TLG-compatible encoding. Pekton (in standard encoding: Phkto/n, only the accent is different). Bill 19:17, 17 Sep 2004 (UTC)

aratrum
I am hardly expert, so I do not wish to edit this entry. There is more significance to this entry. In medieval documents, the aratrum refers to the kind of plow mentioned here, the Mediterranean scratch plow designed for light, sandy Mediterranean soils. It was not very effective in the heavy, often clayey soils of Northern Europe. Over the course of the Middle Ages (experts can debate what times)a new kind of plow, the carruca, was adopted, slowly spreading. (There is no Wikipedia entry for carruca.) The carruca was wheeled, had an iron plowshare, and included a mouldboard. This turned dug deeper into the earth and turned the earth completely over. Increasing use of the carruca greatly contributed to increased agricultural productivity in the High Middle Ages, providing the material foundation for econcomic growth, trade, towns, and cultural intellectual activities like universities and cathedrals.

Also, it seems to me that more information about ancient Greek agriculture might have been discovered since 1875.

This entry, and the carruca, really deserve updating from someone who really knows this information. Do no medievalists use Wikipedia?

David Zalusky Pima Community College


 * What you call the carruca (heavy plough with mouldboard) is covered in Plough, although not in as much depth as would be desirable, bearing in mind the historical importance of this development.


 * AWhiteC 09:59, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

Note moved from article page
"I've done my best with the Greek (is there a good coding for final sigma?); the first word is a hapax legomenon, found only in Hesiod in this one meaning."

I did not write this! Rich  Farmbrough. 22:47, 20 February 2006 (UTC)