Analysis Of The Major Consequences Of The Black Death

The Black Death was undoubtedly one of the most devastating pandemics that shook Europe in the history of human civilisation. First spreading in 1347, the plague allegedly claimed approximately 25 million lives, (one third of Europe’s population) in a time period solely consisting of three years. The consequences that the events of the plague had on Europe were more severe than any other endemic or war at the time. These ramifications greatly impacted family life, religion, economy and highly influenced the separation and avoidance of human life and the fall of feudalism. As a result of the plague, these divisions were changed forever.

As the plague first approached Europe, everyone panicked. In search of coverage, many left everything of which they once owned in hope for survival and freedom of disease. As Europe’s population began to significantly decrease, many left children and loved ones behind for death. However, fleeing did nothing but further spread disease to other towns, where they vastly infected the vulnerable causing them too, to flee even further away. Families who once loved one another were suddenly abandoning their relatives without any thoughts of guilt. It was instantly every man’s individual race for survival. All views on the importance of children had notably changed and many were now throwing their younger descendants out onto Europe’s infested streets. After doing so they no longer would have to watch those who they once nurtured and cared for die a slow and painful death. Eventually people were no longer separated by class and wealth, they were soon divided into the living and dying. The living now had to watch their own families experience the plague in its true form and fear close death themselves whilst they buried their relatives.

It wasn’t only those dying and experiencing near death that suffered the devastation of the plague, many churches also experienced loss when the people started rebelling against the churches beliefs. Before The Black death struck Europe, the Church had nearly absolute power and authority over all people and their belief systems. Soon after the plague occurred, people started to feel less confident in traditional beliefs and started to blame God for the happenings of the plague. The people anticipated that God brought the plague among all as a punishment of their many sins and wrong-doings. Before the plague, the churches has many thousand followers and supporters. Now, people were blaming the churches for the disastrous results of the Black Death. When people questioned the church about details of where the plague had originated, the church had no answers for the outbreak. As the people thought of the churches as omniscient, they started losing spirituality when they discovered that the priests and bishops of the church did not know everything. Ultimately, many of the churches finest leaders were fleeing their Christian duties. The churches now had to frequently recruit more people (to fill the duties of their previous leaders) who weren’t as knowledgeable as wanted. More and more followers lost respect for the church and suddenly, the church didn’t have as much authority as they formerly had. The whole truth was that nothing could stop the plague, not even the church.

For most the consequences of the Black Death were unbearable. For some however, the plague wasn’t the worst turn of events. In the 1300’s, Feudalism was an extremely common system. Feudalism meant that the king could give land to Bishops and Nobels who would then give the land to knights. The knights would have peasants and serfs working long hours on the land for little reward. As many started to fall to the plague, the workers started demanding higher wages and more reward as it was getting harder for others to find good quality workers. As more and more of the population started to drop, higher and higher wages were demanded. Eventually, the peasants realised that they could work for themselves and not be forced below others. This is when the feudal system fell, and more confidence was gained by the peasants. Now the peasants had some power over how their lives were lived and how much money they would work for. After the falling of feudalism, in 1348, King Edward III created a law suggesting that no servants were allowed to search for the best paid work and that all workers must get paid the same salary. If the servants didn’t follow this, they would be fined and imprisoned. However, in the absence of workers, Europe didn’t even have enough people to dispose of the dead bodies so this law did not succeed. The whole of Europe which was once divided into classes was now beginning to fall and the peasants and workers were starting to gain more power. This highlights how the sudden change in control could be easily manipulated in favour of those who supplied goods during desperate times.

In essence, the Black Death not only caused great trauma and devastation, it also directed many changes in medieval society. Families were suddenly torn apart when they used to be united together, churches were picked away by those who they once communed with and previously poor workers instantaneously found a stroke of rare power in the dark and miserable place they once loved. It is agreeable that the events of the plague not only greatly changed medieval times but also left a lasting impact on the world we know today.