The fourteenth century in Europe was a time of great social change. Social opportunities were increasing for groups that had previously been excluded from much of society, especially peasants and women. Class barriers were also beginning to become less stringent that they had previously been, as well as urbanisation and commercialisation becoming more prominent. On the other side of the spectrum, increasing resistance to the established order can be found in this period, such as the Peasants’ Revolt in England in 1381, and Ciompi rebellion in Florence in 1378. This vast array of social changes must be understood against the significant events that took place in fourteenth century Europe. The most important of these was the Black Death, which began in 1347. Widely recognised as an outbreak of Bubonic Plague, not only did it cause a significant decrease in the population of Europe, but it was also the key driving force behind many of the social changes that took place, and were already taking place, during this period. Despite the great importance of this, there were other factors which contributed to the significant social changes that took place. These included the ever increasing urbanisation and commercialisation of society, inefficient governance by some rulers, as well as war. It was a combination of these factors that cause the social changes that the people of fourteenth century Europe experienced. The most significant social change that the Black Death brought about was that it provided increased opportunities for those who had previously been excluded from the inner workings of general society, especially women. In the early part of the fourteenth century, prior to the advent of the disease, women were in general confined... ... middle of paper ... ...ot mean that people abandoned religion altogether, it meant that society became more and more secularised, a trend that would continue for many centuries to come. Social change during this period did not only come from below; it was also implemented from above. Despite the significance of the Black Death as a factor behind the social change seen in fourteenth century Europe, there were other driving forces behind this. One of these was the growing levels of social upheaval brought about by inefficient and tyrannical governance by rulers. A great number of revolts occurred during this period, such as the revolts in southern France in 1378 to 1379, the Ciompi rebellion in Florence in 1378, as well as the Peasants’ Revolt in England in 1381. The latter best illustrates how this change was partially brought about by unpopular decisions made by the incumbent government.
The years 1348 through 1350 had been an extremely gruesome and miserable time in our world’s history. During this time period, one of the most devastating pandemics in history had struck half the world with an intensifying and deadly blow. It had been responsible for over 75 million deaths and 20 million of these deaths were from Europe alone. Out of the countries that were hit hardest in Europe from mortality rates and economic downturns, England was one of them. This grave disease that marked the end of the middle ages and the start of the modern age is known as the Black Plague.
In the midst of the chaos it created, the Black Death weakened the archaic system of manorialism by causing an increase in the incomes of peasants. Manorialism was an economic system where a large class of serfs worked in the fields of the nobles in exchange for a small share of the crops. Due to the outbreak of the plague, however, there were not enough serfs for this approach to remain viable. The death of many serfs due to the Black Death meant that the ones who remained were able to ask for larger shares of the crops since their services were rare and thus more valuable. Further adding to the increase, many peasants whose requests were denied would often s...
In Middle Aged Europe, feudalism and the Catholic Church dominated what was left of a central government. People lived without leadership, and those who did turned only to small based feudal Lords with little power. This led to a serious lack of intellectual activity and many of the Europeans during this era were considered to be, “wallowing in their own filth.” As a result, the Black Death spread rampantly after its initiation in 1348. Several accounts of the disease portrayed it as a horrendous, deadly and disgusting disease that preyed on every man woman and child. Angelo di Tura chronicles the outbreak of the Black Death in the Italian city of Siena in May of 1348. He writes, “There are not words to describe how horrible these events have been [...] whoever can say that they have not lived in utterly horrid conditions can consider themselves lucky” remarking at how terrible life with
Topic/Thesis: The main idea of this essay is to recall the events and horrors of the Black Death. This is the plague that ravaged the world from 1347 to 1352 (History.com Staff). Tuchman describes the journey of the pestilence and how it affects each country and their individual cities. Tuchman also specifically gives the death tolls of major cities and different groups that were affected. She demonstrates how the plague that struck Europe and other parts of the world resulted in filth, fear and chaos. This essay discusses and reports various personal accounts to the disaster of the Black Death. Tuchman clearly defines what forms the plague came in and how it affected different areas. She also describes the emotional and social consequences. She lays out the facts about the plague and the effects it had on the world as well as individual families and people. Tuchman also points out victims that belonged to the upper class during that time such as Queen Jeanne and historian Giovanni Villanni (296-297). In this she shows how the plague killed people of all kinds to distress the brutality of the plague.
The Black Death is the name later given to the epidemic of plague that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351. The disaster affected all aspects of life. Depopulation and shortage of labor hastened changes already inherent in the rural economy; the substitution of wages for labor services was accelerated, and social stratification became less rigid. Psychological morbidity affected the arts; in religion, the lack of educated personnel among the clergy gravely reduced the intellectual vigor of the church.
The Black Death is considered to be "the most severe epidemic in human history" that decimated Europe from 1347 to 1351 (Witowski). Not only did the Black Death depopulate Europe, but it also had long lasting social and economic effects as well. The social effects consisting of culture, morals, values, and social norms. The economic effects consisting of labor, payment, and the foundation of feudalism. However one would call it, the Bubonic plague, the resulting Pneumonic plague or the Pestilence, the disease scarred the social and pecuniary foundations of specifically the European Middle Ages and some of the impacts even carrying forth into further generations.
No other epidemic reaches the level of the Black Death which took place from 1348 to 1350. The epidemic, better regarded as a pandemic, shook Europe, Asia, and North Africa; therefore it deems as the one of the most devastating events in world history. In The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350, John Aberth, compiles primary sources in order to examine the origins and outcomes of this deadly disease. The author, a history professor and associate academic dean at Vermont’s Castleton State College, specializes in medieval history and the Black Death. He wrote the book in order to provide multiple perspectives of the plague’s impact. Primarily, pathogens started the whole phenomenon; however, geological, economic, and social conditions
The Black Death changed the medieval European society totally in a positive way. In medieval Europe before the plague, European countries had the manorialism, which the society was divided into distinctive sections. Peasants and serfs had to live in a manor and listen to their lords. They needed to work for the lord and got
In the 1340’s, an epidemic named the Black Death, erupted through Europe, killing nearly ⅓ of its population. The Black Death originated in China, rapidly spreading to western Asia and Europe. It killed about 30 million people in Europe plummeting its population. A lot of these people were peasants. This was because they had the least money, therefore putting them in the worst living conditions. There were so many of them that no individual could make a substantial amount of money. When the plague hit, the peasants were strongly affected. A huge population of them were killed. After the epidemic, the population of peasants was far less than before. This provided them with a chance to really improve their lives. The Black Death caused a change
The Black Plague, perhaps one of the worst epidemics in history, swept its evil across Europe in the middle of the 14th century, killing an estimated 20 million people. This major population shift, along with other disasters occurring at the time, such as famine and an already existing economic recession, plunged Europe into a dark period of complete turmoil. Anarchy, psychological breakdowns, and the dissipation of church power were some of the results. As time passed, however, society managed to find new ground and began its long path of recovery. The plague, as catastrophic as it was to medieval Europe, had just as many positive effects that came with this recovery as it did negative effects prior. An end to feudalism, increased wages and innovation, the idea of separation of church and state, and an attention to hygiene and medicine are only some of the positive things that came after the plague. It could also be argued that the plague had a significant impact on the start of the Renaissance.
Medieval society was tossed into disarray, economies were fractured, the face of culture and religion changed forever. However, the plagues devastation was not all chaotic, there were benefits too, such as modern labour movements, improvements in medicine and a new outlook on life. Therefore, in order to analyse the impact the Black Death had on societies in the 14th century, this essay will consider the social, economic, cultural and religious factors in order to reach an overall conclusion. In order to learn how societies were impacted by the Black Death, it is important to note the situation prior to the epidemic. Britain and France had been at war since 1337, by August 1347 France was devastated.
Who would have thought that anything good could have come out of the death and devastation that is known as the Black Death? Suppressed by Christian myths and stereotypes, women had little if any power in pre-plague Europe. In the wake of the Black Death women earned higher wages and inherited property. This created more power for women to choose their husbands because they were highly sought after for their wealth. This led to a redefinition of marriage that was founded on love and sharing. Women became viewed as equals within the relationship and paved the way for gender equality.
In 1348, people from all around the world suffered from one of the most deadliest and cruel diseases known as the Black Death. The plague killed so many people in Europe that some of the villages were abandoned and the population of some cities was decreased by half. Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian writer and poet who eye-witnessed and described the horrors caused by the Black Death in his novels Decameron. In Boccaccio’s work, the sick people were left behind to survive on their own and even children were left behind by their parents because they were sick. Unfortunately, from all the people who died during the epidemic, the peasants were those who actually benefited from it. The Black Death end up with political,
The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 came to be due to many varying economic and political tensions of the 14th century. Perhaps one of the biggest motivators for this uprising began with the Black Death, which occurred in the mid 14th century beginning in England in 1348. The Black Death, more commonly known as the bubonic plague, rapidly destroyed the population of England, and by the year 1400, the country was left with approximately half of the amount of people than were present nearly 100 years prior to the plague. This dramatic decrease in population left the country in an economic crisis. Without as many workers to continue the labour as per usual, English parliament felt the need to create a law to supress labourers primarily by limiting wages. This act was entitled the Statute of Labourers 1351.
The 14th century is ranked as one of the most distressing epochs in the history of Western culture. With the transformation of the Holy Roman Empire into a greatly destabilized elective monarchy, the transfer in political power from Germany to France and the escalation of England's power comes the end of the High Middle Ages in which Europe sank into a time of despair. Many events were responsible for this decline and loss of hope. Among them, three deserve special attention: the Great Schism, the Hundred Years War, and the Black Plague.