The year of 1347 was seen to be one of European history’s most fateful years.

Known as the Black

Death, arrived when 12 ships full of body bodies infected with the ‘Bubonic Plague’ docked at the
Sicilian port of Messina, beginning the 4 year outbreak that killed over a third of the European
population (25 million). This was later said to be spread from infected rats and fleas, leaving bodies
dead within a week of symptoms. Major changes in society occurred, beginning with the loss of
morality for others, discriminatory persecution’s against Jews, followed by the uprising of the
Peasant’s Revolt, prior to the breakdown of the Feudal system due to wage distributions, including
the later insignificance of the Catholic Church.

During the Black Death, disillusionment and chaos swept across Europe, in return, many people
turned away from their regular ways of life and beliefs, and social connections between one another
began to break. The Decameron, written by Giovanni Boccaccio stated that “ fathers and mothers
refused to see and tend their children.” People had become too afraid of the disease to follow
human morality, thus it seemed as Medieval Europeans could only depend on themselves to fight
the disease, as no one seemed to care for other’s lives, even loved ones. Others however “ thought
that moderate living and the avoidance of all superfluity would preserve them from the epidemic.”
Shutting themselves in uninfected homes, eating and drinking the finest food and beverages and
allowed no news or discussion of death or the plague. People were living as if each day was going to
be their last. Discriminatory practices were also held against particular groups of people in society,
mostly the Jewish. Christians had claimed that the Jews had died at only half the rate that they did,
while disregarding the different hygiene practices Jewish people performed. Once the Jews had been
falsely accused of well poisoning and many other acts of cruelty, persecutions began to emerge
along with extreme torture. In January 1349 ( the first massacre of many) , “ the entire Jewish
community in the city of Basel was burned at the stake” (In text). In Mainz, (the largest Jewish
community in Europe) Jews defended themselves against mobs and killed over 200 Christians, not
long after on August 24, 1349, 6000 Jews were massacred in Mainz. By 1351, there were almost no
Jews left in Germany or northwestern Europe, most had been killed during the plague outbreak.

Along with insightful and dehumanising social impacts, the Black Death also caused many major
events and changes to how European society functioned economically, and how the wealth of
Peasants fluctuated greatly. The Peasants’ Revolt (1381) was known as “a turning point, enabling
peasants together, to demand more freedoms from their lords.” (In text) . After the major events of
the Black Death had unfolded, the Statute of Labourers was introduced to all peasants that capped
wages at the 1346 level, one year prior to the outbreak, it said that
everyone should be “receiving the customary salary and wages in the
twentieth year of the reign [1346] of the king” (Statute of Labourers,
1351). In addition, the Poll Tax introduced to pay for the 100 Year’s
War also received much opposition; eventually moving to England,
(see source 1), tragically coming to a brutal end with the death of the
revolt leaders, Wat Tyler, Jack Straw and John Ball. The long term
ramifications of the Peasant’s Revolt were many, one being the
breakdown of the Feudal System, also partly caused by the
distribution of wages due to the Black Death. (In text) has mentioned
that “the drastic reduction in workforce enabled the surviving serfs
and freemen to demand higher wages.” This new atmosphere created (Source 1) Richard II meets the rebels on 14
in the lower classes of the previous Feudal structure allowed greater June 1381 in a miniature from a 1470s copy of
Jean Froissart's Chronicles.
social mobility and also promoted the concept of Capitalism. As
nobles couldn’t prevent the change in society, the wealth divide began to shrink. This ultimately
removed the concept of fiefdoms and vassals, resulting in a silent disappearance of the Feudal
system.

Prior to the Black Death, almost every part of one’s life was under the influence of the Catholic
Church, especially the afterlife. When the Plague hit Europe, “ people believed it to be a punishment
of God” (In text). Therefore, they often turned to the Church for help, but since priests and bishops
were actually unable to assist in anyway with either cures
or explanations, the Catholic Church lost a lot of its power
and influence on Medieval society. As a result, some
people began to put their faith into the church even
more, praying for salvation while most others increased
sinful behaviour, arguing that nothing mattered anymore
if they were all to die. After the epidemic, new priests
were often less educated and inexperienced compared to
predecessors, leading to a worsened reputation of the Source 2: the Reformation, the religious revolution that
took place in the Western church, led by Martin Luther
church. Along with inexperience, the church had become and John Calvin.
much richer after the Plague, including that “the church
started to charge money for some of their services.” (In text,). Since there had been no explanation
nor cures from the church, many had started to question religion and even started revolts against
the Church, one of these known as the Reformation in the 16th century, see source 2.

The Black Death is one of Medieval Europe’s most fatal and unfortunate events. The major impacts
on Medieval society both were immediate and long lasting, shaping European and modern day
society. Through the hysteria and persecutions, to the beginning of many uprisings and the
breakdown of the Feudal structure ending in the infamous breakdown of the Catholic Church. The
Black Death was an end for many, but the beginning of a new future for others.
HISTORY. (2010). Black Death. [online] Available at:
https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/black-death [Accessed 6 Sep. 2019].

Boccaccio, G. (1351). The Decameron. 1st ed.

Wein, B. (n.d.). The Black Death « Jewish History. [online] Jewishhistory.org. Available at:
https://www.jewishhistory.org/the-black-death/ [Accessed 4 Sep. 2019].