continued to strike Europe.

After the Plague

Few would argue that the loss of so many lives was a tragedy of epic proportions, but there was actually a silver lining. Before the
Black Death struck Europe, the continent was overpopulated, underfed, and underpaid. After the plague ran its course and the
population leveled off, there actually was a shortage of labor. This meant that workers enjoyed an increase in wages, and the once-
underfed population now had plenty of food. Ironically, the health and the economic status of Europeans improved.
There were, however, negative consequences. As the disease raged out of control, people needed an explanation for the tragedy.
Many claimed that the disease was the wrath of God being visited upon a wicked continent. The Church instructed people to pray
hard for relief, but the relief never came. Many lost faith in God and in the power of the Church. Some who didn’t subscribe to the
“wrath of God” theory pointed their fingers at the Jews. Conspiracy theorists proposed that the Jews poisoned the wells in an
attempt to destroy Christendom. This led to much violence against Jews all over Europe. Many Europeans were left bitter and
jaded regardless of why they thought the disease struck.

The 116 Years’ War

Between 1337 and 1453, England and France engaged in a series of raids, guerilla actions, and all-out battles in what has become
known as the Hundred Years’ War. The struggle actually lasted 116 years, to be exact, but it should be noted that the fighting was
not continuous over the entire time span. There were cease-fires and periods of little or no fighting, but these times of peace rarely
lasted more than a few years.

The Original Hatfields and McCoys

There must have been a major disagreement for two kingdoms to slug it out for over a hundred years. In the case of the Hundred
Years’ War, there were actually two major disagreements, combined with the fact that the English and French really didn’t like
each other.
The first disagreement was over land, specifically English holdings in southwestern France that were rich in trade goods. In a
disastrous minor war earlier in the fourteenth century, England lost most of its holdings and wanted desperately to recover the
land.
The second disagreement arose over the inheritance of the French throne. In 1328, the French king, Charles IV, also called Charles
the Fair, died without a son to inherit the throne. This was a crisis for France; for centuries there had been no succession problems
within the Capetian dynasty, or the rule of the Capet family. Now, however, things got complicated.
The closest male relative of the dead king was his nephew, Edward III, the teenage king of