Effects of Plague

Effects of Plague

Overview
1. Plague effectively finished in 1351
  1. Lots of fornication at this time - celebrating survival
    1. Life improved vastly for survivors
      1. Clothing, Housing, food all improves
        Food prices fall dramatically
        Peasants had access to high quality food much more often
        Birth rate rose immediately after plague
Plague Returns
1. 1361 Pestis Secunda
  1. Hit children born after first plague very hard
    1. Had no previous resistance
  2. Adults who survives 1st one seem fine
    1. Immune in some way
  3. 25% death rate appox
  4. Dies away within a year
2. 1369 Pestis Tertiary
  1. Mainly in the summer
    1. Then recurrent plagues every summer til 17th Century
      1. Royals + Parliament always move away in summer to avoid it
        Last Major outbreak in 1665
  2. Particularly countryside not towns
Statistics
1. Population levels
  1. it's thought that if plague was only in 1348-50 - population wouldve recovered by 1360
    1. Due to recurring plagues and low birth rates, didn't actually recover til late 16th Century
      1. After Original Plague, third die, 5 mil down to 3.5 mil approx
2. Life expectancy
  1. 13th/14th Century - L.E is 35-40
    1. Late 14 Century - down to 20 - due to a lot of child deaths
      1. 1400 gets back up approx 30
      2. 14th century, if you make it past 12, could expect to live til 50, child deaths skew figures
Wages + Prices
1. Wages rise
  1. Less people around to do work, have to pay peasants more
    1. Most peasants were serfs - belonged to Lord - would be returned if ran away
      1. Changed - travelling serfs would be accepted by Lords,
        Less people around, needed workers
        Lords wanted as many workers as possible, would promote serfs to freemen/offer higher wages to gain/keep workers
        Prices fell
        Lords paying higher wages and receiving less money for goods
2. Laws
  1. Ordinance of Labourers 1349 - issued by King Edward II
    1. 1351 Statute of Labourers - issued by parliament
      1. Both laws stated that wages have to be paid at pre black death rate
        Laws were not effective, shows us Lords didn't like what was happening
  2. Sumptuary Laws 1363
    1. Outlined what peasants were not allowed to wear
      1. Silver buckles, silk, fur coats, purple/blue
        Nobels were worried about gap between rich and poor narrowing
        Punishment was a fine
        However richest peasant just chose to pay fine
        Helped peasants to gain status
        law completely backfires
3. Case study
  1. Farnham Caprenter
    1. 1346 earning 3d a year
    2. 1364 earning 5d a year
Agriculture
1. Stop using 3 field crop rotation
  1. Instead use only decent fields
    1. crop yield increases = more food = lower prices
2. Heriot Tax
  1. Land changed hands often due to plague
    1. tax had to paid, usually your best cow
      1. Lords had a lot of cows
        Kept them and farmed them
        Good because it requires less people to look after them
        First introduction of hedges, keep cows in fields, make ownership more clear
Women
1. Lots of men with important jobs had died
  1. Bakers, blacksmith etc
    1. Would've been assisted by family
  2. Females take over male roles
    1. Women weavers, higher positions within trade
2. Effect
  1. Women better able to provide for selves
  2. no longer need to marry young for financial support
  3. Woman can marry who they want due to having money - not Father's choice
    1. Leads to women marrying later
  4. Decreases birth rate
3. Case study
  1. 1379 Sheffield
    1. 2 women blacksmiths
      1. unheard of
Religion
1. People started to question beliefs
  1. Church said plague was God's punishment
    1. yet many priests died
      1. People still believe in God - no choice
        Just start to ignore priests, shown as useless
  2. People wanted more personal relationship with God
    1. Rich enough people hired chantry priests to live with them
      1. very well paid - only one service a morning
        Appealing option to priests at the time
2. Age at what you could become a priest fell 25-20
  1. Get many young + old widowed men becoming priests
    1. Due to not being able to get married
      1. End up with many illiterate priests
        Increases lack of faith in them
        Leads to protestantism and scientific reasoning
        Education of priests 1348-1362
        4 new colleges built and opened in Cambridge
        2 in Oxford
Specific case study
1. Taylor worked for lord William Leen
  1. 1374 - entered negotiations over wages
    1. Leen's offer non high enough, Taylor declines
      1. Tayleor goes to work for self as ploughman
        1374, August + September hired himself out
        In those 2 months, earned 15 shillings, same as Leen's offer for a years work
        SHOWS - changing status, could negotiate with Lord
        Also shows there is a lot of money to be made for peasants at the time

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