Water Management in the Middle Ages: The Example of the Zagreb Chapter and its Estates in the 14th and 15th Centuries

Abstract

Based on the statutory, diplomatic and protostatistical sources (tithe census records), this paper analyzes the efficiency with which the Zagreb Chapter exploited the water resources on its estates in the 14th and 15th centuries. These resources include the traffic potential of the rivers on the estates, ferries, watermills, dams, ponds and bathing-places. The paper is also trying to establish the extent to which the Chapter managed the estates that were flooded either by human or by natural agency. The paper endeavors to prove that the Chapter was in constant interaction with its environment. This indicates that, even when the Chapter exploited its water resources to the maximum, it caused readjustment and changes in the environment.