Feilstedets

Feilstedets is a fictional village created for illustrative purposes in encyclopedia-style writing about Nordic rural settlement patterns. It is used in case studies to discuss how farmsteads evolved into small communities from the Iron Age through the medieval period.

The name Feilstedets is presented in the fiction as a compound of old toponymic elements meaning field and place, reflecting a common naming pattern in the region. In the imagined history, the settlement originated as a manor farm and grew around a parish church.

Feilstedets lies on a gentle rise above a meandering river valley, with mosaic farmland, hedgerows, and conifer and broadleaf woodland. The climate is temperate maritime, with mild winters and regular rainfall that supports dairy farming and pasture.

Archaeological and documentary evidence in the fictional record suggests intermittent occupation from the late Iron Age, expansion in the medieval era, and the establishment of a parish church by the 14th century. Today, the village preserves a compact core around a village green and church.

The population is depicted as roughly 1,100 to 1,200 residents, with the local economy centered on agriculture (notably dairy and cereals), small-scale forestry, and village services. A few artisans and tradespeople maintain traditional crafts.

Access is via a regional road; the nearest rail link is in a larger town several kilometers away. Notable features include Feilstedets Church, a 15th-century watermill, and the surrounding crofts and lanes. In fiction, the village hosts an annual harvest festival and a midsummer market.