And no mention of plows. IIRC almost the entire reason that northern europe could have a much larger society in medieval times (compared to roman) was that the

And no mention of plows. IIRC almost the entire reason that northern europe could have a much larger society in medieval times (compared to roman) was that they had more metal, for making better plows, to turn over the heavy soil. That's why blacksmiths were so important.