'Dough,' Disease, and Death: The Results of a Pestilence on a Medieval Economy

'Dough,' Disease, and Death:
The Results of a Pestilence on a Medieval Economy
By Ashleigh Gardner, 2010

The horrific outbreak of plague in Europe during the early part of the 14th century posed a near impossible challenge to those alive during and after the pestilence ravaged the continent: to reconstruct the economy of Western Europe while still remaining self-sufficient. Prior to the plague known as “The Great Death” or “The Black Plague,” northern Europe suffered from a catastrophic famine in 1316, which was primarily caused by the most uncontrollable factor in nature: the weather. Around 1280, the population of Europe hit a “demographic ceiling” and the continent was brimming with hungry, poor, and unhappy inhabitants (Epstein 161). With the advent of new farming practices from the previous century, larger areas of land were being utilized for farming because of the rising population, and this created a shortage of nutrient rich soil. Thirty-five years later, in 1315, the year suffered from a rainy summer and a subsequent brutal winter, which resulted in muddy fields and soil erosion, thus causing the over-cultivated soil to become infertile and crops to die. The famine deprived Europe of its basic necessity – food – and the population suddenly declined as a result of both starvation and the looming pestilence. Because of the lack of nourishment, many underfed and sickly children of this era would find themselves the primary victims of the plague in later years (Epstein 165).

Consequently, trade in northern Europe was greatly influenced by the disaster. The destruction of one third of Europe’s population transformed the European economy from one that lacked the goods to accommodate its enormous population, to one that nearly overflowed with resources. The Great Hunger of 1316 plays a vital role in the economy prior to plague-stricken Europe, and should therefore be touched upon before delving into the economic factors which were directly influenced by the Black Death: inheritance of estates, psychological and need based spending, and new methods of business.

Northern Europe’s famine, as has been stated, was chiefly caused by a harsh coupling of weather patterns during the year preceding the food shortage. As a result of poor farming conditions, food was scarce and provided for fewer products for sale at local markets. This lack of desired goods resulted in less profit for the merchant’s business and less income for his family and himself. In addition to a shortage of food, cattle were also in short supply following an outbreak of what is thought to be rinderpest, an infectious viral disease of livestock that spreads rapidly and is ultimately fatal (Epstein 161). Therefore, without a substantial amount of cattle, farmers had fewer livestock to sell at market; also, the products of cows, such as milk, cheese, and meat, were made scarce through the deaths of these valuable animals. Additionally, the loss of oxen was “catastrophic for open-field plowing and for transportation,” Epstein says, regarding the outbreak of rinderpest (161). Without oxen, farmers lost time and productivity in plowing and planting their fields, and even lacked a strong and reliable motor for their wagons which they used to transport goods to market.

Southern nations who had been spared the harsh season were prospering when compared to northern Europe, and were unable to provide assistance because of two central reasons: transportation costs and over-population of the southern nations (Epstein 162). First, the amount of money it would cost to transport goods from the Mediterranean area to the inner areas of England would be greater than the profit those merchants would gain as a result of their trek Westward. The cost of transporting goods so far was astronomically high, and therefore was not worth the risk. Second, the south was also suffering from hitting the “demographic ceiling,” and therefore could only produce the amount of food which was demanded of it by its citizens and its citizens only (Epstein 162).

Modern scholars provide a variety of explanations on how the plague came to Western Europe, including the popular flea-carrying rodent theory and the theory that a Tartar commander catapulted plague-infected bodies over the walls of Caffa, a Genoese city. However, of the two, the idea that rats carried fleas with the disease is the most popular (Snell). The spread of the Black Plague can be attributed to something as simple as trade. During the 14th century, it was common for these flea-carrying rats to find their way onto ships used for international commerce. As ships were unloaded onto docks in places such as France and England, the rats and fleas were released into a world where the disease they carried had never been experienced before (Snell). Since the illness was an entirely new strain of bacteria and had never been encountered by the general population of Europe prior to its sudden introduction, it struck rapidly and with great force, slaughtering one third of Europe’s population (Snell). The children whose immune systems were weakened by the famine of 1316 were now adults, and now represented the work force of the north; the economy still suffered from overpopulation and a shortage of goods (Epstein 165).

The exact year that the plague entered the north is difficult to place, for different sections of northern Europe were affected during different years; but January of 1348 is an approximate date for the arrival of the Black Death in England, Italy, and southern France (Epstein 169: map “Big Death”). After the outbreak of plague in northern Europe, the previously mentioned economic factors of inheritance, increased spending, and transformed business began to slowly churn the markets of England, Italy, and France.

First, inheritance of money and large tracts of land was a direct result of the Black Death. Although the plague killed one third of the population, it still left the physical capital of those individuals intact (Epstein 170). Furniture, clothing, books, treasure, homes, and even farm animals still remained after the deaths of their owners. Therefore, these items were then transferred to the next of kin, or to whoever would be fortunate enough to have fallen into a situation where they might possess it, whether through a friendship or an auction. Marchione di Coppo Stefani recounts the appearance of heirs to large fortunes in his account of the plague in Florence in 1348: “Then those who would inherit these goods began to appear. And such it was that those who had nothing found themselves rich with what did not seem to be theirs…” (Coppo Stefani 72) These individuals, coming from little no to wealth at all, found themselves holding a substantial amount of wealth, and at the same time, were questioned by others and about the origins and the rightfulness of their ownership.

With the multitude of inheritances, Northern Europe saw an increase in spending in local markets, and merchants found that their products were earning more profit as a result of increased buying. Increase in personal wealth also allowed them to perhaps establish their own business from the funds left to them by their predecessor, and then make their way into the market as a merchant instead of simply a seller. Epstein points out that this period was “one of the greatest periods of wealth transfer in human history” (Epstein 170) He makes a fabulous point: in the entire history of humans, only two other periods can even come marginally close to the amount of capital transferred from one person to another through death; World War II resulted in over 63 million deaths, and the Rule of Genghis Khan resulted in an estimated 40 million deaths (White).

Second, psychological and need based spending was a significant after effect of the plague. Due to a rise in what is now termed as “post traumatic stress disorder,” survivors of the plague experienced feelings of guilt, loneliness, and anger; one short term remedy for these feelings lies in the consumption of alcohol in large quantities (Epstein 179). People who were stressed or burdened with the fact that they had survived the plague and their families had not, took to drinking, which meant that these individuals had to procure payment in order to receive beer with which to drown their sorrows. Similarly, wine emerged as a necessary super drink of the plague-stricken European economy. “Best against the pestilence,” rhymed Italian professor and doctor Gentile da Foligno. He proclaimed that “white wine, preferably, old, light, and aromatic, mixed with water” was the best tool to combat the fierce disease (Kelly 173). Foligno’s advertising only strengthened the belief of alcoholics and melancholic survivors that wine was a sure chance against the Black Death and emotional suffering.

Furthermore, apothecaries were overrun with business as people were continually told that pastes, herbs, and pills would ward off or even cure the disease (Coppo Stefani 73). These people bought out of both a psychological and physical need. They believed mentally that these items would help them avoid the pestilence, and they also believed that their bodies needed to take in these supplements in order to survive. Materials that were sold by these medieval medicine men were “mallow, nettles, [and] mercury” and also “pills of aloe, myrrh, and saffron” (Coppo Stefani 73; Kelly 173). Coppo Stefani even says that because of an extensive amount of advertising by apothecaries and their apprentices, “it was those who made these poultices who made a lot of money” and ultimately profited because of a fear of death (Coppo Stefani 73).

Additionally, items for funerals were also needed in great quantities, such as coffins for the deceased and funeral robes for the living. As the death toll rose by the hundreds each day, the call for coffins for the wealthy increased. Since the upper class was also hit hard by the plague, they used their wealth and position in society to their advantage and bought coffins for their very recently deceased loved ones (Kelly 175). The purchase of handcrafted goods helped increase the circulation of money in the economy of northern Europe, and allowed for merchants to buy more supplies and thus craft more coffins, which were hardly going out of style. Funeral clothing was also necessary because of the high rate of death. Coppo Stefani shares his account of the need for women’s clothing and the price gauging which took place because of that specific need:

Dressing in expensive woolen cloth as is customary in [mourning] the dead, that in a long cloak, with mantle and veil that used to cost women three florins climbed to thirty florins and would have climbed to one hundred florins had the custom of dressing in expensive cloth not been changed. The rich dressed in modest woolens, those not rich sewed [clothes] in linen(72).

His knowledge of the economy of the time provides insight into the daily dealings of merchants in Italy, and if a market trend in ladies’ clothing were indeed occurring throughout the rest of Western Europe, that trend would then show today’s economists that price gouging during a crisis is not so foreign; the economic fears of today closely mirror those of seven centuries ago.

Lastly in this section, the broad need for particular types of food is represented in the prices of eggs and sugar. Depending on where they were sold and who they were sold by, eggs were priced at twelve to twenty-four pence each in 1348 (Coppo Stefani 71). If inflation is accounted for, then today, the price of one egg would be £18.60 in England, or roughly $24 in America (“Measuring Worth”). Additionally, sugar was also highly valued and cost between three to eight florins per pound in 1348 (Coppo Stefani 71). Assuming the florin Coppo Stefani speaks of is the coin which King Edward III struck in 1344, the price of one pound of sugar in today’s England would be £111, or $178 in America (“Measuring Worth”). The scarcity of these goods and their demand correlate with each other and follow the basic law of supply and demand: if a product is in short supply, it is priced higher; conversely, if a product is in abundant supply, it is priced lower. The population of Western Europe had a need to buy these products, and therefore must have declined the price in favor of a lower one, or accepted it and resigned to the fact that since these products were in such short supply, they were better off purchasing them while they lasted.

Finally, business and production played the largest role in plague ravaged Europe. As death became the predominant ruler of the country, risky positions needed to be filled, such as priests, physicians, and gravediggers; these positions could be filled by such individuals as the able elderly, the poor, and beggars (Herlihy 93). Although the office of a priest did not necessarily denote compensation for a service, the amount of priests had declined so rapidly that there were not enough priests available to give the last rights to a suffering victim of the plague. New clergymen were therefore recruited by the church; however, it is not known whether or not they were offered payment (Herlihy 93). The role of a physician was quickly picked up by many people who had, unfortunately, not even attained the proper level of knowledge to become a doctor. Most were quacks posing as real doctors; although these actions are manipulative and dangerous, those who committed the deception were simply looking for a quick source of income amid a time of uncertainty and fear (Kelly 174). Most of all, the gravedigger was the most popular position to fill during the years of the plague’s presence. However, this job did not come without great risk: if a gravedigger was unfortunate enough to come in contact with a body of an infected person, he/she would almost certainly have contracted the illness with the first touch, and would be rendered incurable until death.

Following the plague, willing and able workers were in such short supply that the cost of hiring a man to become an assistant cobbler, blacksmith, or carpenter became much more expensive (Coppo Stefani 74). An example exists in the case of John Ronewyk, who owned a large estate of land in the region of Farnham, or what is now Surrey, England. During the winter of 1348-49, the region experienced its first “plague related economic dislocations” (Kelly 205). As the men working in the region died because of infection, labor prices for the surviving town workers rose dramatically. Conversely, an abundance of livestock remained because it had not yet been eaten or sold. The prices of these animals drastically dropped, and as a result of lower costs, they were bought more frequently, but with less valued placed upon them (Kelly 205). John Kelly cites an unnamed contemporary, who says of the period, “a man could have a horse previously valued at forty shillings for half a mark, a good fat ox for four shillings, and a cow for 12 quid” (Kelly 205).

Furthermore, since the price of labor was dreadfully high because of plague-related deaths, the reward for creating a cheaper way to produce goods was quite substantial as seen in the example of Johann Gutenberg (Herlihy 98). David Herlihy explains Gutenberg’s use of technology that was

carried on across the previous century…He and all the early printers were businessmen. Printing shops required considerable capital to set up their presses and to market their books. But they were able to multiply texts with unprecedented accuracy and speed, and at greatly reduced costs. The advent of printing is thus a salient example of the policy of factor substitution which was transforming the late medieval economy… (Herlihy 98)

Gutenberg profited from a speedy production of a highly desirable good, and eventually became known as the father of printing, which is just one advantage of finding a more efficient way to produce high-demand products.

Additionally, the deaths of land owners and merchants freed resources: their deaths allowed for an over abundance of unclaimed land, buildings, and goods; these available assets could then be used for farming, factories, and personal gain through market trading. Instead of using empty mill sites for their old purpose – grinding grain – they were able to be used as sites for textile production, “the operation of bellows [a mechanical device which blows a strong currant of air],” and the preparation of lumber (Herlihy 95). Herlihy offers the view that “even as the population shrank, the possibility of developing a more diversified economy was enhanced” (95). Spare goods found without an owner were snatched and then sold for a profit by whoever was lucky to find them. As with abandoned buildings, abandoned fields could be used to plow, plant, and harvest a new year’s worth of crop, thus adding to the wealth of the new owner and to the overall economy of Western Europe through trade.

The Black Death’s toll on Europe was ultimately one of the most horrific catastrophes in the history of humanity; it damaged not only the morale of European society but also damaged its already suffering economy. The severe famine which occurred 35 years prior to the plague’s entrance into Europe did not help matters in the least, and only exacerbated them by inflicting weakened immune systems and economic troubles upon the children of the early 14th century who would later become the victims of the Black Death. However, the region managed to recover its identity through sudden inheritances, psychological and need based spending, and the success of intelligent business practices; through great perseverance and economic persistence, the once plague-ravaged nations of Western Europe became a prosperous and promising cradle for the upcoming Renaissance. An expanding local economy, a revolutionary use of unclaimed capital, and a growth in technology all culminated in a successful reconstruction of a major world power and subsequently proved that though a society is stricken by disaster, it has the infinite possibility to rise against its foe and prove its resilience.






Works Cited

Coppo Stefani, Marchione Di. "The Great Fear of Florence." The Black Death. Ed. Thomas Streissguth. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 2004. 69-74. Print.

Epstein, Steven A. An Economic and Social History of Later Medieval Europe, 1000-1500. Cambridge, England: Cambridge UP, 2009. 159-89. Print.

Herlihy, David. "Chapter Two: The Economic and Cultural Impact of the Black Death." The Black Death. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 1999. 91-113. Print.

Kelly, John. The Great Mortality: an Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 173-205. Print.

"Purchasing Power of British Pounds from 1264 to Present." Measuring Worth - Measures of Worth, Inflation Rates, Saving Calculator, Relative Value[...]. Measuring Worth. Web. 06 Dec. 2010.

Snell, Melissa. “The Black Death.” About.com. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

White, Matthew. "Selected Death Tolls for Wars, Massacres and Atrocities Before the 20th Century." Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century. Oct. 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2010.



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