<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>A significant number of deserted medieval rural settlements have been identified in Europe. These sites are at risk of disappearance as a consequence of current urban development and cropping intensification implying that relevant features of the cultural landscape informing about past rural traditions in the European countryside may be lost. The objective of this article is to illustrate this fact by means of a case study consisting of a deserted medieval rural upland settlement in Wales. A field walk carried out in this site revealed that old rural traditions and past ways of living can be identified from its own bodily engagement with the surrounding landscape. This evidence is used to argue that strategies that involve personal experience of deserted medieval rural settlements such as agroturism may be implemented to protect these sites and the cultural information contained in them.</p></abstract>

A significant number of deserted medieval rural settlements have been identified in Europe. These sites are at risk of disappearance as a consequence of current urban development and cropping intensification implying that relevant features of the cultural landscape informing about past rural traditions in the European countryside may be lost. The objective of this article is to illustrate this fact by means of a case study consisting of a deserted medieval rural upland settlement in Wales. A field walk carried out in this site revealed that old rural traditions and past ways of living can be identified from its own bodily engagement with the surrounding landscape. This evidence is used to argue that strategies that involve personal experience of deserted medieval rural settlements such as agroturism may be implemented to protect these sites and the cultural information contained in them.

The Risk of Losing Deserted Medieval Rural Settlements: Opportunities for Agroturism and Rural Development

European Countryside

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

A significant number of deserted medieval rural settlements have been identified in Europe. These sites are at risk of disappearance as a consequence of...

The Risk of Losing Deserted Medieval Rural Settlements: Opportunities for Agroturism and Rural Development

Published Online: Dec 31, 2020

Page range: 636 - 648

Received: Jun 03, 2020

Accepted: Oct 24, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2020-0033

Keywords
Deserted Medieval Rural Settlements, Field Walk, Rural Traditions in the European Countryside, Agroturism

© 2020 Daniel E. May, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Risk of Losing Deserted Medieval Rural Settlements: Opportunities for Agroturism and Rural Development

Published Online: Dec 31, 2020

Page range: 636 - 648

Received: Jun 03, 2020

Accepted: Oct 24, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2020-0033

KeywordsDeserted Medieval Rural Settlements, Field Walk, Rural Traditions in the European Countryside, Agroturism

© 2020 Daniel E. May, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Deserted Medieval Rural Settlements, Field Walk, Rural Traditions in the European Countryside, Agroturism