This list of early medieval watermills comprises a selection of European watermills spanning the early Middle Ages, from 500 to 1000 AD.
Largely unaffected from the turbulent political events following the demise of the Western Roman Empire, the importance of watermilling continued to grow under the new Germanic lords. The sharp rise in numbers of early medieval watermills coincided with the appearance of new documentary genres (legal codes, monastic charters, hagiography) which were more inclined to address such a relatively mundane device than the ancient urban-centered literary class had been. This partly explains the relative abundance of medieval literary references to watermills compared to former times.
The quantitative growth of medieval evidence appears to be more than a mere reflection of the changing nature of surviving sources. By Carolingian times, references to watermills in the Frankish Realm had become "innumerable". At the time of the compilation of the Domesday Book (1086), there were an estimated 6,500 watermills in England alone.
By the early 7th century, watermills were well established in Ireland, and began to spread from the former territory of the empire into the non-romanized parts of Germany a century later. The introduction of the ship mill and tide mill in the 6th century, both of which yet unattested for the ancient period, allowed for a flexible response to the changing water-level of rivers and the Atlantic Ocean, thus demonstrating the technological innovativeness of early medieval watermillers.
Below the earliest medieval evidence for different types of watermills. This list complements its ancient counterpart.
| Date | Water-powered mill types | Find spot (or reference) | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 537 | Ship mill | Procop V (=Goth. I), 19.19–22 | Rome |
| 6th century | Sawmill
| Jordan and Turkey | |
| 6th century | Vertical-wheeled tide mill | Ireland | |
| c. 630 | Horizontal-wheeled tide mill | Little Island I | |
| c. 636 | Horizontal-wheeled mill (Norse or Greek mill) [2] | Ballykilleen | |
In the following, literary, epigraphical and documentary sources referring to watermills and other water-driven machines are listed.
| Reference | Location | Date | Type of evidence | Comments on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annals of Ulster | 650 | Annal | ||
| Benedict of Nursia, Regula 66.6–7 | 529/547 | Possible watermill | ||
| Caesarius of Arles, Sermones, VIII, 4 | Early 6th century | |||
| Cassiodorus, Variae III, 31.2 | 510/511 | |||
| Paris | 556 | Charter | Ship mill | |
| Charter of king Dagobert II | Trier | 646 | Charter | |
| 762 | Charter | |||
| Charter | Wang-Thulbach | 754 | Charter | Possible watermill |
| Charters | Lorsch Abbey | 760s onwards | Charter | |
| Edictus Rothari 149–151 | 643 | Legal code | ||
| Gregorius Turonensis, Historia Francorum III, 19 | Dijon | c. 575 | Historiography | Ship mill |
| Gregorius Turonensis, Vitae Patrum, XVIII, 2 | 484/507 | Hagiography | ||
| Lex Alamannorum, 79–80 | 717/719 | Legal code | ||
| Lex Baivariorum, IX, 2 | Probably 725/728 | Legal code | ||
| Lex Visigothorum, VII, 2.12 and VIII, 4.30 | 568/586 | Legal code | ||
| Marius Aventicius, Chronica | Geneva | 563 | Annal | Ship mill |
| "Muliheim" | Near Niederalteich | 731 | Charter | Likely watermill site |
| Nomos georgikós 81–82 | Late 7th century | Legal code | ||
| Pactus Alamannorum, V, 14 | Early 7th century | Legal code | ||
| Pactus legis Salicae, Recensio Guntchramna, X, 6; XII, 1–3; XXXI, 3 | 567/596 | Legal code | ||
| Procop V (=Goth. I), 19.19–22 | Rome | 537 | Historiography | Ship mills |
| Senchus Mòr, De ceithri slichtaib Athgabála | c. 600 | Legal code | ||
| Venantius Fortunatus, Carmina, III, 12, 37–8 | c. 600 | |||
| Vita Haimhrammi, 37 | Thuringia | c. 770 | Hagiography | Watermill (?) machinery |
| Vita Leobae, 12 | c. 740 | Hagiography | ||
| Vita S. Orienti, II, 3 | c. 380/420? | Hagiography | ||
| Vita Sturmi, 20 | Fulda | c. 765 | Hagiography | Mill-channel |
| Vita S. Brigidae virginis, cols. 787–8 Migne | c. 650 | Hagiography | ||
| Vita S. Remigi episcopi Remensis, 17 | 486/511 | Hagiography | ||
Below are listed excavated or surveyed watermill sites dated to the early medieval period.
| Site | Country | Date | Identification/Remains |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ebbsfleet | England | Early 8th century | Horizontal-wheeled tide mill |
| Old Windsor I | Probably late 7th century | Mill-channel, woodwork of three vertical water-wheels | |
| Old Windsor II | 9th or 10th century | Mill-channel, horizontal-wheeled mill | |
| Raunds, West Cotton [3] | England | Late Saxon | Leat, sluice gate, chute, stake and wattle lined and stone surfaced wheel-pit |
| Tamworth | Between 846 and 864 | Entire establishment | |
| Dasing | 696/697 | Vertical-wheeled undershot or breastshot mill, mill-pond, mill-race, fragments of mill-stones | |
| Ballykilleen | c. 636 | Horizontal-wheeled mill | |
| Cloontycarthy | c. 833 | Entire establishment | |
| Drumard | c. 782 | Horizontal-wheeled mill | |
| Killoteran near Waterford | Ireland | 6th century | Vertical-wheeled tide mill |
| Little Island I | c. 630 | Horizontal-wheeled tide mill | |
| Little Island II | 7th century | Vertical-wheeled tide mill | |
| Morett | c. 710 | Vertical-wheeled undershot mill | |
| Gerasa[4] | Jordan | 6th century | Sawmill; crank and connecting rod system without gear train |
| Nendrum Monastery mill | Northern Ireland | 619 & 789 | Horizontal-wheeled tide mill |
| Ephesus[5] | Turkey | 6th century | Sawmill; crank and connecting rod system without gear train; multiple mill complex with at least five watermills |
The following list comprises stray finds of early medieval millstones. Note that there is no way to distinguish millstones driven by water-power from those powered by animals turning a capstan. Most, however, are assumed to derive from watermills.
| Site | Country | Date (or find context) | Remains |
|---|---|---|---|
| Probably Anglo-Saxon | Mill-paddles from horizontal wheel | ||
| Moycraig | 9th century | Horizontal paddle-wheel, hub and shaft, complete with pebble bearing | |
List of tide mills on Long Island