"The wool of a thousand sheep in good pasture at the least ought to yield fifty marks a year, the wool of two thousand one hundred marks, and so forth, counting by thousands"

Robert Grosseteste's quote worries the financial efficiency of sheep farming, using wool as a main procedure of value and wealth. Grosseteste, a 13th-century English scholar, theologian, and Bishop of Lincoln, composed during a time when sheep and wool were central to the English economy and the medieval agrarian system. His statement can be analyzed in a number of ways to show both the economic context of his era and the underlying presumptions about farming and value.

First of all, Grosseteste suggests the success and performance expectations of sheep farming. By specifying that "the wool of a thousand sheep in excellent pasture at the least should yield fifty marks a year," he offers a standard, or a baseline, of economic output from which landowners and farmers might plan their agricultural activities. A mark was a system of currency used in medieval England, and fifty marks represented a significant amount of cash, highlighting how lucrative the wool trade might be.

Additionally, Grosseteste's quote highlights the value of pasture quality. The expression "in good pasture" highlights the dependency of wool yield and quality on the environment and land management practices. This concentrate on excellent pasture recommends an early understanding of sustainable farming practices, stressing that the quality and maintenance of grasslands were vital for financial success.

Furthermore, by providing a scalable model in which the wool yield increases proportionally with the variety of sheep ("the wool of two thousand [sheep yields] one hundred marks, etc"), Grosseteste indicates a direct and predictable relationship in between inputs (the variety of sheep) and outputs (wool yield). This suggests a primary type of economic forecasting and planning based upon scalable production.

In broader terms, Grosseteste's observations show the combination of the natural world within medieval economic systems and the elegance of medieval thought concerning agriculture. Through basic estimations, his insights encapsulated how natural deposits were harnessed to support and drive economic structures during the 13th century.