At the centre of this study is an enquiry into variations in demographic behaviour in the past. It questions the traditional view that the pre-modern demographic pattern was characterised merely by restrictive and fairly static demographic behaviour. Nuptiality and fertility are the central phenomena used to assess the demographic system in the period prior to deliberate birth control. This study focuses on the mutual relationship between these two phenomena, but it also considers the socio-economic, socio-cultural and ecological variations identified within the region being researched. It is assumed that traditional models can explain much of the variation in demographic behaviour, but not all. As an explanatory tool, the traditional framework is therefore inadequate. But by applying resource-based models and drawing on new insights into the influence of religion, dialect and soil type, this study succeeds in broadening our view of how the pre-modern demographic system worked.