The Long-Term Impact of the Black Death on the Medieval Agriculture

How did immediate and long-term effects of the Black Death change medieval society in Europe?

The Black Death affected the European economy in a positive way. The biggest change, good for peasants, was the end of Feudalism. Feudalism is a social triangle that decided who obeyed who and many other unfair standards for all Serfs, the base of the pyramid. Due to the huge population deficit, Serfs were scarce and “Barons were now willing to pay higher wages and offer extra benefits. All their life they had lived off the serfs’ hard work, and were willing to pay them to stay on the manor to continue slaving for them” (Vunguyen). This gave the Serfs more power to ask for higher wages and the freedom to find more work if they do not get what they want. Serfs, or peasants, “began

The Black Death was devastating and was one of the most significant events in Medieval Britain. The Black Death was also known the plague and bubonic plague it describes the spread of disease that caused mass deaths throughout Britain. The disease itself was carried by fleas and spread across Europe between 1346-1353 leaving towns and city such as Siena Italy with 85% of the population wiped out. This was seen all over Europe including Britain and it can be argued economic factors was the most significant consequences of the Black Death. However there are many factors such as political, social factors and Mortality rates that were also results of the Black Death and perhaps social factors may be more significant.

"The Black Death" is known as the worst natural disaster in European history. The plague spread throughout Europe from 1346-1352. Those who survived lived in constant fear of the plague's return and it did not disappear until the 1600s. Not only were the effects devastating at the time of infection, but during the aftermath as well. "The Black Death" of the fourteenth century dramatically altered Europe's social and economic structure.

The Black Death, the most severe epidemic in human history, ravaged Europe from 1347-1351. This plague killed entire families at a time and destroyed at least 1,000 villages. Greatly contributing to the Crisis of the Fourteenth Century, the Black Death had many effects beyond its immediate symptoms. Not only did the Black Death take a devastating toll on human life, but it also played a major role in shaping European life in the years following.

Amongst the devastation and despair the Black Death left in its wake, it also brought with it some much-needed change to the way medieval Europeans were living. Although it ended many innocent lives, it also began a new era of social and economic living. In the years following the first outbreak of the plague, medical knowledge and awareness of hygiene dramatically improved, as did the living and working conditions of the workers. Other benefits included the rapid growth of Europe’s middle class and thus the fall of the feudal system, the loss of the church’s supreme authority, and the increase in economic power for medieval women.

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in history. Many Western Europeans were living with this disease for nearly four hundred years. The disease was able to spread rapidly and affected Europe in many ways. Since this disease was rapidly spreading throughout Europe it scared many of the people during this time. Many historians considered the Black Death in the fourteenth century a turning point in Western European history. According to Streissguth, “Before the epidemic of bubonic and pneumonic plague died out three years later, it would kill more than one-third of the continent’s population.” Hundreds of thousand people died from this horrific disease which changed Europe forever. Near the end of the fourteenth century it was obvious to the people living during that time that the plague had become a regular and destructive aspect of life. The plague had left many rural areas untouched after the late 1300’s but the epidemic began almost every decade. When the Black Death began to spread across Europe it caused unimaginable fear, panic, and chaos for the people. The Black Death was an important turning point in Europe, where the economics, politics, and society would never be the same. The Black Death spread rapidly across Europe causing many people to become ill and die which resulted in social, economic, and religious upheavals.

Through history there have been devastating events during time periods, which eventually lead to positive outcomes, after all the sorrow comes the miracle everyone hoped for. As they say “there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.” As a matter of fact that is what happened during The Fourteenth century, it was one of the most devastating centuries, filled with horrible events, the outcome of those events led to the reshaping of Europe and Asia through trends and events. In Europe, during the Fourteenth Century, the population was soaring and there was surplus in the food supply.

The Black Death was one of the largest epidemics the world had ever seen, having wiped out mass amounts of people the plague came to completely shift European medieval society into the modern era. The black death showed no regard as to who it affected, it affected rich and poor, man, women and children all the same. The plague was so widespread among Europe that death was increasingly frequent. Such an epidemic caused people to have a completely new idea of life and death. In this essay I intend to argue that the key components of medieval society’s outlook on life and death are how death affected the living, through the ways people coped the mass amounts of loss. The various interpretations of the cause were a way for society to

(Source 3) The Black Death arrived in Europe by ship in October 1347 when 12 Genoese trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after a long journey through the Black Sea. They were overcome with fever, unable to keep food down and delirious from pain. Strangest of all, they were covered in mysterious black boils that oozed blood and pus which gave the illness its name: the “Black Death.” Overall, the Black Death killed many people, which caused a huge change in medieval Europe. This is evident because there was a peasant uproar threatening the feudal structure; there were fewer labourers to do twice as much work; and the churches authority was question.

The Black Death was a terrible disease that spread all throughout Europe. It killed 50-60% of Europe’s population; about 50,000,000 people. Soon, there were no more people left in many towns. Landlords wanted anyone who was willing to work. Serfs became tenants and peasants became farmers. Many women also took up their husband’s jobs, replacing them. Disease, war, and famine combined to keep Europe’s economy down. Lots of businesses were affected and debtors died. Cathedrals and buildings that were being built were left there, unfinished because the architects and construction workers had died.

The plague of the black death was a panic and disaster in Western Europe because it leads the death of ⅓ of the population. It quickly spread all over the continent, destroying full towns and cities. Moreover, the plague reached its peak of destructions in 1349, which was a “wretched, terrible, destructive year, the remnants of the people alone remain.” Life before the black death arrived for the serfs it was unpleasant and short. Nevertheless, Europe before the black death arrived was successful and the trade at the time was strong. The spread of the plagues was traumatic and unexpected because it spread so quickly.

The Black Death was also a way for people to start a new life, and it was also a way for Europe to start from square one. There was a huge effect on education. Many people realised that as much as they believed in God and their religion, the church was not God and that they were just taking the power. Because of this, people tried to research more about the reasons why the plague spread. Therefore, medicals schools were opened and there were many more doctors than before. Technology and machines improved and developed because of the lack of workers on the fields. The idea of feudalism was also faltering as many of the lords had died from the plague. Peasants were more free and they were also let loose from the bounds tying them to the lands. Instead, people started going towards of humanism and ideas of working for the benefits of oneself. There is evidence that can back this up. In Russia, the plague did not have as much as an effect and the feudal system continued until the 19th century.

The Black Death, according to Joseph P Byrne, was “a deadly epidemic that spread across Asia and Europe beginning in mid 1300’s.” It did not take long for the plague to make a big impact on the world. “By the spring of 1348, the Black Death, also known as Black Plague, spread to france, The Alberium Peninsula, and England, following trade routes and hitting big cities first before spreading to the countryside,” states Gail Cengage. In the 19th century, Europe was devastatingly hit with this epidemic that affected them greatly then and now. The Black Death in Europe affected 19th centuries economics, population, and literature. Its effect on Europe is an interesting topic that shaped history and our lives today. This topic is widely covered as Molly Edmonds writes her findings from other sources. These sources will be used to describe the effect the Black Death had on Europe.

During the 14th century, natural disasters struck Europe leaving citizens sick and in poverty. In addition, The Black Death, a bacillus carried by fleas on black rats struck and spread into Russia, Sicily, and other parts of Europe killing around 20 million people. The Black Death, however, brought new opportunities since a smaller population led to lesser need for cultivating lands. As a result, changes in agriculture began to evolve contributing to a better standard of living. The power and wealth of landlords, whose dominance was based on land were threatened