Monthly Archives: September 2013

Social change after the plague: the occult

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Ruth

In the world after the plague, the occult had a much larger role. It isn’t hard to argue that pagan magic had never entirely stopped when Europe became officially Christian; but there is also no question that “black” magic, power … Continue reading →

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Social change after the plague: personal religion

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Ruth

The earliest stages of the Protestant Reformation began in the years immediately after the plague. There was a widespread sense that the Church as an institution had let the people down. The Church had promised that if they were supported … Continue reading →

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Social changes after the plague: hospitals

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Ruth

Before 1350, there were about three different models for hospitals. In Byzantine regions, the chief model was the municipal hospital operated in Constantinople. It was funded by tax money, and it actually had some surgery and active medical care in … Continue reading →

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Social changes after the plague: education

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Ruth

The plague was so severe that it disrupted most ongoing institutions, including the ones that educated the youth. During the worst of it, schools closed as pupils died or were sent home. Masters and apprentices died. When it was over, … Continue reading →

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Last outbreaks of the bubonic plague

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Ruth

For the record, bubonic plague was a major cause of death until the mid-17th century. Seville had a devastating outbreak in 1647, followed by another, the last, in 1676. London’s last huge plague outbreak occurred between the two in Spain, … Continue reading →

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Demand for labor after the plague

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Ruth

As the farming situation slowly stabilized in the next century, the plague kept returning to clear out surplus workers. Probably, in every year until the 1600s, someone in Europe had bubonic plague; regional outbreaks occurred without becoming continent-wide events. Other … Continue reading →

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Peasants in revolt: 1381 and after

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Ruth

During the same period of time that the plague was ravaging the population, England had attempted to maintain a state of near-constant war with France. The purpose of war was to defend original English royal family holdings in France; these … Continue reading →

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Farming after the plague

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Ruth

The Black Death lasted about 3 years, but only about one year in any one place. After that, each regional economy, and Europe as a whole, began to recover. The men and women who’d taken the places of the ones … Continue reading →

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Farming during the plague

Posted on September 7, 2013 by Ruth

One of the really odd notes about the plague is that, from what we can tell, farming wasn’t much affected by the rapid rate of human and animal death. That is, we only know what the manor harvest record books … Continue reading →

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