The Fourteen Century Was The Century Of Adversity And Change

It reached Europe in 1347. In a few years up to 50 percent of the population died, with higher mortality rates in urban areas. It returned every few years for centuries.

During the middle of the 14th century the Black Plague struck Europe. The Black Plague affected Europe religiously, economically, and socially.

When the plague struck lots of the population of slaves and peasants died, which meant that there was a huge struggle for landowners to find workers for their fields. This meant that peasants could demand higher wages and had lots of bargaining power. This is because if landowners didn’t have workers than they wouldn’t be making any money, which would lead to their loss in wealth. Another way the feudal system was changed is that usually skilled artisans and craftsmen handed down their family business to their sons. However if these descendants were dead then craftsmen and artisans had to employ new workers, which meant peasants and slaves acquired more important skills. And finally, because of these reasons there was a growth in the middle class. The middle class are not slaves, but not nobles. This meant the population became more equal and many different jobs arose for people. Changes to the feudal system allowed Europe to grow closer to what we know it as

In the late Middle Ages the worst evil known to man terrorized Europe. People were dropping dead everywhere and there was no place to put them. This vicious culprit was known as the Black Plague. During the 14th century in Europe millions of people died from the plague and the plague brought about great change. Before the plague there was peace and prosperity in the High Middle Ages and after the plague things were different. Historians consider the outbreak of the Black Plague a watershed moment because of great social, religious and economical changes.

Among three devastating events of the fourteenth century, I consider the Black Death(Plague) had the most pronounced impact on the course of medieval history. Although, other two events were also left an impact on the course of medieval history, but there is no such comparison to the black Plague. The changing climate and poor harvests which lead to famine, malnourishment, and death was just the beginning of troublous period on Europe’s. Europe was already suffering from famine, but more devastating time has just arrived along with the medieval shipping. Plague first started from china, and soon brought by Genoese ships to Europe, which was the ticking time bomb waiting its own time to burst. It has start spreading throughout many parts of

During those times, it was very hard to live, but it paved the way for modern day. 1450 brought about Renaissance, capitalism, the age of exploration, and the nation state. The Renaissance brought new attitudes toward the secular world and man's place in it. Capitalism brought new attitudes towards money and profit. The age of exploration brought new perspectives on Europe’s place in the world. The nation state brought ybw technology consisted of gunpowder, the printing press, better ships, and new navigation. There was also social change. Although it was tough for all classes, by 1500 peasants in Western Europe were free and had possession of their own land. The middle class was increasing through positions in the king's bureaucracy. Along with the change came new business techniques. The new business techniques consisted of joint stock companies, deposit banks and credit, and insurance companies. Joint stock companies granted people with low amounts of cash to participate in business enterprises such as merchant expeditions. The most important factor was that instead of people wasting their money, it was put into circulation with Europe's economy, which allowed it to grow more. Deposit banks and credit allowed bankers to invest more money in business ventures. Along with this, banking houses allowed branches to open, and it also extended a system of credit across Western Europe. Credit granted a businessman to use more

History reveals the mid-14th century as a very unfortunate time for Europe. It was during this period when the continent became afflicted by a terrible plague. The source of the pathogen is known today as bubonic but was colloquially known as “The Black Death” to Europeans of the day. The plague caused a tremendous number of deaths and was a catalyst of change, severely impacting Europe’s cultural, political and religious institutions.

    The economy dropped severely from 1350-1400 and one of the many reasons was from the Black Plague. It infected so many people and got them sick, the agriculture was failing, and 25,000,000 people died.

The many lawmakers died leaving lawbreakers to go unpunished. Society needed many services to be preformed. “At this moment of crisis, if you survived the Black Plague and you were able body, you might have been put to work. Work opportunities were made available to anyone who was alive and could work. Despite any attempt to keep the economy in order supply and demand took over. Wages in the towns soared to two even three times the level they had held in the crowded thirteenth century,” (Herlihy, 48). The poor people started to go from town to town looking to make the most money. “The people who could work changed there tone and wanted money instead of food and shelter. The poor liked the fact that they were getting more money but the enjoyed the great gain on being able to buy more land. How numerous were the famous families, the vast estates, the notable fortunes, that were seen to be left without a rightful successor!”(Boccaccio, 13). Two things were needed to be more economically efficient and that was consumption reduction and production increase. In order to raise production, people would have to get and cultivate more affordable land. With population reduction and higher wages, new agricultural technique needed to be put in place. The new agricultural allowed those that could afford to rent the land a new investment in livestock. In spite of the many new accomplishments the people still want to be more efficient because of the better

As a result of so much death, many families began to lose money and couldn’t keep businesses or pay taxes. Money in Europe had always been disturbed in this order: Kings, Barons, Knights and lastly, Serfs. As more and more people began to die, the distribution of money was uneven, and people of higher status began to lose their power. This also meant that people of lower status gained power as a result of difficulty to find workers. Due to this and the commonality of surplus land, the price of labor was raised, and the value of land decreased. The economy was being torn apart by deaths of every day people as well. Citizens who owed money died along with all of their family members, and their creditors had to one to collect from. Landlords in the country side stopped letting their serfs be free and tried to force more labor on them. Many peasants demanded higher wages, or fewer burdens. The Jacquerie in 1358, The Peasant’s Revolt in 1381, and the Catalonian Rebellion in 1395 all prove how seriously mortality had disrupted the economy. Revolts like these also damaged another key part of Europe: Social Relations.

In the 1400s, Europe had been left in devastation from the aftermath of the black plague. This had left Europe in major religious, social and economic upheavals. Orphans, theft, intoxication, prostitution, brutality and misuse of powerful by important figures were very common. Education was unavailable to anyone without enough money to pay for it, creating an extremely large gap and social division between the classes. Church services and the bible were spoken and written in Latin, resulting in the majority of the common people being unable to understand the true meaning behind the words. As People were unable to read the bible, the only way to connect with God was through church services. Priests and Monks had several different jobs and often refused to help peasants when they asked for it, generating mistrust between the clergy and lay people.

In the 1300s, Europe was thriving with new innovations and huge cities that covered the country. Most of Europe was urban and very crowd with a population of 50,000 (“Middle Ages”). The 1300s was a period known as the Middle Ages, which represents the time where the Roman Empire and the Constantinople fell. During this time around 1350, infectious disease was spreading through the streets of Europe. Approximately, 20 million people died in Europe from the plague, which is roughly around one-third of the population (“Black Plague”). The Black Plague affected European civilization and how European society viewed the world. The renaissance is a prime example of how the Black Plague affected Europe. The Black Plague helped influence people

"The Black Death" alone was not the only factor that was responsible for the social and economic change although it was the most important (Ziegler 234). Even without "The Black Death" continued deterioration in Europe would have been likely. The social and economic change had already set in well before 1346. For at least twenty-five years before "The Black Death," exports, agricultural production, and the area of cultivated land had all been shrinking. "The Black Death" contributed a large part to all of this destruction and led to important changes in the social and economic structure of the country (Ziegler 234-235). The plague touched every aspect of social life (Herlihy 19). There was hardly a generation that was not affected by the plague (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). Families were set against each other - the well rejecting the sick (www.byu.edu). Families left each other in fear. Many people died without anyone looking after them. When the plague appeared in a house, frightened people abandoned the house and fled to another (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). Due to this, the plague spread more rapidly because people were not aware that being in the same house with the infected person had already exposed them to it. Physicians could not be found because they had also died. Physicians who could be found wanted large sums of money before they entered the house (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). When the

The 14th century was a time of great crisis, the Hundred Year War and the Turmoil in the Catholic Church all shook peoples faith in the government, religion, and their fellow men. The renaissance all began in Italy where the culture was surrounded by the remnants of a once glorious empire. Italians rediscovered the writings, philosophy, art, and architecture of the ancient Greeks and Romans and began to see antiquity as the golden age which held the answers to reinvigorating their society.

The 14th, 15th and part of 16th century was a glorious time for Europe, it was the reformation of many old ideas and the formation of many new, this was called the Renaissance. The Renaissance brought many changes to Europe, the economy was greatly boosted by of all the new explorations. The flourishing economy helped to inspire new developments in art and literature. And from that many new beliefs were formed.