水力应用与中世纪英格兰谷物碾磨的机械化

Study on the Application of Water Power and the Mechanization of Corn-Grinding in Medieval England

英格兰的食品加工工业是从水力机械的发展中受益最大的一个产业。虽然早在古罗马时期欧洲人已利用水力来碾磨谷物,但直至中世纪,水力磨坊的应用程度和范围才得以真正扩展。水力磨坊的发展并非是一帆风顺的。领主与农民围绕磨坊垄断权所产生的冲突与妥协,既体现了二者之间复杂的权利与义务关系,又为审视水力磨坊扩展的原因提供了＂自下而上＂的新视角。水力磨坊的普及应用使得磨面基本实现了机械化,这不仅极大提升了碾磨效率,解放了人力,更促进了谷物碾磨的专门化,改善了磨坊所碾磨出的产品的质量,而且也反映出中世纪晚期商品因素在磨坊产业中的逐渐渗透。

In England, the processing of food was an industry which benefited immensely from the development of hydraulic machinery. Although water power had been used to grind corn as early as in the ancient Roman ages, the expansion of the application of watermill was not realized in extent and scope until the Middle Ages. However,the watermill didn’t spread smoothly. Centering on the monopoly right of mills,conflicts and compromises between lords and peasants constantly occurred during the medieval period,which not only reflected the complicated relationship of rights and obligations between them,but also provided a bottom-up perspective to account for the circulation of watermill. The widespread use of watermill achieved mechanization in corn-grinding. It not only greatly increased the capacity of grinding,freed human power from the monotonous drudgeries, promoted the specialization of corn-grinding, improved the quality of final products,but also revealed the gradual permeation of commodity factor into the milling industry during the Late Middle Ages.