The Black Death

The Black Death was the catalyst for widespread social and economic changes throughout Europe during the 14^th century. From 1347 through 1350, three separate diseases, bubonic plague, septicaemic plague, and pneumonic plague ravaged western Europe resulting in millions of death and reducing the population by nearly fifty percent. Though changes to Europe's feudal system and other social structures were inevitable and already in the beginning stages, the devastation created by the Black Death set the stage for accelerated evolution of these institutions.

Background

The Black Death was first reported in Europe during the summer of 1346 in the town of Caffa in the Crimea. The Tartars had Caffa under siege and would launch corpses that were infected with the diseases over the walls of the city in hopes of weakening the city's defenses. The residents of Caffa escaped the siege by getting in boats and rowing away, taking the disease with them (Davies, 1998).

There were actually three separate plagues that were collectively called the Black Death. The bubonic plague and the septicaemic plague were carried by fleas on the bodies of black rats. The third disease, pneumonic plague, was a virulent airborne disease. Because of famines, the European people were already susceptible to disease (Huppert, 1998).

Though there were few places left untouched by the Black Death, the disease did not strike all areas equally. People in towns where there were crowded tenements and poor sanitation were hardest hit, while those in the countryside fared better. Poor people died more often than the rich and the young and fit seemed to succumb to the disease more than the old and infirm. Interestingly, no kings or popes died from the diseases (Davies, 1998).

It is very difficult to estimate the mortality from the Black Death in Europe. Poor record keeping and the overwhelming numbers of dead leave researchers with scant clues as to the real total number of deaths. Some estimates put the death toll in England at 1.4 - 2.0 million and 8 million in France with a total mortality in Europe of about 30 million (Davies, 1998). By 1420, the estimated population of Europe was about a third of what it was before the plague (Herlihy and Cohn, 1997)

Social and Economic Consequences

Some changes were already being seen in Europe with respect to the social structure prior to 1347, so the Black Death is seen as an accelerator of change rather than an originator. In western Europe, this time period marked the point of decline in the feudal system. Other impacts were seen in the form of languishing trade, labor shortages, and urban distress.

The labor shortages created by the mortality of the Black Death created the opportunity for increased wages because of higher demands. Many serfs started commuting their labor dues for money rents, thus creating a more mobile and less dependent work force. Feudal vassals commuted their military and judicial obligations for cash payments as well. This led to a form of "bastard feudalism".

Public uprisings occurred in Europe as the demands on the surviving peasants increased. The decimated work force resented the efforts of the land owners to keep down wages. This led to legislation in England entitled the Statute of Labourers in 1351. This piece of legislation forced all able bodied people to work and at a wage that was considered customary five or six years previously (Zmora, 2001). Exactly one generation after the Black Death had swept through Europe, a rash of uprisings occurred from 1378 - 1382. This was indicative of general social malaise and had the hallmarks of class warfare (Davies, 1998).

There was widespread violence throughout the countryside and revolts in towns and cities. Among the uprisings was the revolt of the ciompi (wool-carders) in 1378 during which Florence was taken over for several months. In 1379, the weavers in Ghent and Bruges rose up against the Count of Flanders. The Peasants' Revolt in 1381 in England was not attributed to a desperate rage among paupers, but rather came about because of demands for an end to servitude. Material conditions were improving at this time, but after three poll taxes in four years, the people were expressing their protest toward the gentry and the clergy (Davies, 1998).

During the height of the Black Death, scapegoats were sought to blame for the horrible plague. While in some places lepers were picked upon as the scapegoat of choice, in other areas Jews were persecuted and accused of causing the plague. In some instances, Jews were arrested and specifically charged with poisoning the water supply. In September 1348, a group of Jews in Chillon were put on trial for causing the plague based on evidence that had been collected by torturing the accused. This was the signal for full scale pogroms. In Basle, Jews were penned into wooden buildings that were set on fire and the people inside were burned alive. Similar scenes were found throughout Europe in places like Stuttgact, Ulm, Speyer, and Dresden. In Strausberg, approximately 2000 Jews were massacred and in Mainz, the number may have reached as high as 12,000 people (Davies, 1998).

Social Responses

Three primary social responses were seen among the people in Europe following the Black Death. When experiencing pain or trauma, people tend to have one of three psychological responses: flight, violence, and sublimation. Flight in this case was toward churches, doctors, visionaries, and workers of miracles. The violence was seen in the acts of violence toward Jews and the general decadence that followed. Sublimation manifested itself in the works of artists.

Shortly before the plagues, the number of monks, nuns, and friars was approximately 17,500. In a matter of two years, about 50% of the people in monasteries died. Among the clergy in the churches scattered throughout Europe, an estimated 45% succumbed to the Black Death. As the religious revival started in the years following the plague, the churches found themselves in a position where they had a shortage of clergy and of funds (Ziegler, 1971).

During the plague, clergy were faced with a nearly impossible task of caring for their members. Those that did stay and tend to the sick often died of the plague. There were also those clergy who simply ran away in hopes of saving themselves from certain death. Though it is an oversimplification, the best of the clergy died during this time and the worst survived. This led to a diminished capacity for the church to deal effectively with protests and revolts.

Another reason the church was left in a diminished functional capacity was due to the large numbers of young men who turned to careers in the Holy Order after their wives had died of the plague. These men were young and uneducated, and some lacked the true sense of vocation. In essence, the newest members of the clergy were not prepared to be in positions of responsibility. Because there was such a shortage of clergy, some took advantage of the situation and either haggled for more pay or simply left if they found a better paying position (Ziegler, 1971).

Though initially left with financial problems due the number of unpaid tithes and lack of manorial incomes, the church soon benefited from the religious revival. In an attempt to appease an angry God for whatever sins had been committed that led to punishment by way of the Black Death, there was an era of frenzied charity. In addition, the church benefited from legacies as many of those who had died left their riches to the church (Ziegler, 1971).

Polar opposite of the flight of masses of people to religion was the increase in decadence following the Black Death. This was seen in an increase in the crime rate and in the number of prosecutions and convictions for every type of crime, an increase in blasphemy and sacrilege, a change in the rules of sexual morality, and in the pursuit of money (Ziegler, 1971).

From 1350 - 1480 was a time referred to as the "golden age of prostitution" in Europe. Following the Black Death, as rules regarding sexual morality eased along with the strict rules governing things like female dress, an institution called "Prostibula publica" emerged. These were public brothels licensed to operate in most towns. As an example, the town of Tarascon consisted of only 500 - 600 households and yet it supported 10 municipal whores. Surprisingly, the church did not protest these activities because they felt that evil existed and that evil needed to be channeled. It was also thought that licensed fornication led to a decrease in street violence, diverted young men from sodomy or worse, and it broke in young men for when they were married and needed to fulfill their conjugal duties (Davies, 1998).

No part of life in Europe was left untouched by the effects of the Black Death, including art. In the years following the Black Death, artists' favorite themes migrated from ones of religious overtones to those of suffering and retribution. A particular style of art known as the danse macabre emerged that exemplified the horrors of what people were experiencing. In this style, skeletons are shown mingling with the living in everyday scenes. In some paintings, girls can be seen dancing with skeletons (death), while in others skeleton horses carry skeleton hunters out into the woods for a hunt. One of the most disturbing images may be a skeleton holding an infant as it is baptized. These paintings were not just the work of painters who were painting for themselves. These works were commissioned by cities, towns, and churches and were displayed in public places (Knox, n/d). Other changes, though not as widespread as the danse macabre, were seen in the images sculpted into tombs. The lid of the tomb usually depicted a likeness of the person inside the tomb, showing them as they looked in health and dressed in their finest clothes. Following the plagues, tomb sculptures began to depict the deceased as half-decomposed corpses with rotting flesh and clothing (Knox, n/d).

The Black Death coincided with definitive changes in the social and economic conditions of Europe in the 14^th century and though the plagues cannot be credited with causing the changes, it was a catalyst for the change. The impacts seen throughout the continent included massive mortality that unevenly struck the population, religious revival, social uprisings based on labor shortages and unfair wages, an age of decadence, and changes in the art of the time.

References

Davies, N., (1998). Europe: A History. New York: Oxford University Press

Herlihy, D. and Cohn, S.K., (1997). The Black Death and the Transformation of the

West. Harvard University Press

Huppert, G., (1998). After the Black Death: A Social History of Early Modern

Europe. Bloomington: Indiana University Press

Knox, E.L., (n/d). The Black Death: Art. Boise State University. Retrieved October 30,

2009 from http://www.boisestate.edu/courses/westciv/plague/19.shtml

Ziegler, P., (1971). The Black Death. New York: John Day Company

Zmora, H., (2001). Monarchy, Aristocracy, and the State of Europe 1300-1800.

London: Routledge