Question

difference between open and common field

Answer 1

These fields then were physically open but not common (Thirsk, 1964). In the context of common land the word 'field' is generally used in English to refer to arable land rather than meadow or pasture or waste. By contrast, enclosed or private land whether arable, pasture or meadow may be referred to as a field.

The fields of cultivated land were unfenced, hence the name open-field system. Each tenant of the manor cultivated several strips of land scattered around the manor. The village of Elton, Cambridgeshire is representative of a medieval open-field manor in England.