What is "flurzwang"

Flurzwang is the German name for a historical system of agriculture used in various places in Europe. It was an agreement or sometimes an order from the community, among all the owners of farmland or farming plots, or by the lord of the manor, for the cultivation of individual pieces of agricultural land in the community in areas using the three year crop rotation system. It was used between the late Middle Ages until about the middle of the 19th century, or even much longer in some places. It typically resulted in dispersal of the ownership of property over the entire land of the community, the so-called Gemengelage (mixed location).