Climate and society in European history. (19th November 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ljungqvist, Fredrik Charpentier; Seim, Andrea; Huhtamaa, Heli
• Is Part Of: Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Volume 12:Number 2(2021)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2020-11-19
• Subjects: climate–society interactions -- common era -- history -- impact order model; Climatic changes -- Periodicals; Climatic changes; Periodicals; 363.7387405
• DOI: 10.1002/wcc.691
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1757-7780

Abstract

Abstract: This article evaluates 165 studies from various disciplines, published between 2000 and 2019, which in different ways link past climate variability and change to human history in medieval and early modern Europe (here, c . 700–1815 CE). Within this review, we focus on the identification and interpretation of causal links between changes in climate and in human societies. A revised climate–society impact order model of historical climate–society interactions is presented and applied to structure the findings of the past 20 years' scholarship. Despite considerable progress in research about past climate–society relations, partly expedited by new palaeoclimate data, we identify limitations to knowledge, including geographical biases, a disproportional attention to extremely cold periods, and a focus on crises. Furthermore, recent scholarship shows that the limitations with particular disciplinary approaches can be successfully overcome through interdisciplinary collaborations. We conclude the article by proposing recommendations for future directions of research in the climatic change–human history nexus. This article is categorized under: Climate, History, Society, Culture > Ideas and Knowledge Abstract : (A) Temporal coverage of the 165 studies examining associations between climatic variations and human history for different regions between 700 and 1815 CE which were reviewed considering (B) a revised schematic model of historical climate–society interactions.