- 07 Apr 2012 15:52
#13933732
England shifted from consuming sheep's milk to cow's milk, by the 13th century, because they realized sheep were more valuable for wool. (1) Wool was very profitable and many monasteries became rich because of it. There was a monastic movement, the name escapes me, that built their monasteries in inhabitable lands, up on hills and mountainous regions, far away from other people. However, these monasteries still needed an income. Sheep were perfect as they could graze easily on hilly terrain. (2)
As well, unlike other places, England did not have very many goods to trade. Whatever goods they did have were not exploited during the Medieval times (coal). Wool was the only thing they could trade that others wanted.
1. C.M. Woolgar, “Meat and Dairy Products in Late Medieval England,” Food in Medieval England: Diet and Nutrition. Medieval History and Archaeology, ed. C.M. Woolgar, D. Serjeanston, T. Waldron (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 95-96. (I am not giving the ebook link as it will redirect you to my school's proxy, which, I do not want to share with strangers on the internet.)
2. I do not have a citation for this, as it is in my class notes, but I can look it up if someone would like proof.