Black Death: Disastrous Consequences On Medieval Europe's Social and Economic System - Essay Sample

Introduction

The outbreak of a terrible plague in Europe, known as the Black Death that occurred in the disastrous 14th century, completely transformed the world of feudal Europe. It took a great proportional toll of life compared to any other war or epidemic ever known before (DeWitte, 2014). Black Death caused severe depopulation, which affected the medieval system of that time, both socially and economically. Nevertheless, the experience itself had an impact on every aspect of the lives of the people. On an epidemic level, diseases were part of life during the middle ages. Still, an epidemic with such severity as the Black Death had not been witnessed before and after the plague, people changed their way of living completely (James, 2011). The Black Death transformed the vital paradigm of the lives of Europeans in various ways. While the Black Death drastically and irretrievably changed the social and economic structure of Europe, the bubonic plague had significant impacts on the psychology of medieval people and eventually led to the decline of the European Serfdom.

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According to James (2011), the Black Death had large-scale economic impacts since the economy suffered extreme and unexpected inflation. Producing goods or procuring them through trade was very difficult. Therefore, the prices of the imported products and those produced locally rose sharply. Even though the employed population decreased because of the plague, the number of tools and land did not change. Labor became an exceptionally scarce resource, which triggered an increase in the price of labor (DeWitte, 2014). The demand for laborers was exceptionally high that it endangered the manorial holdings. Moreover, with a reduced number of people, the demand for farm products went down, which decreased their dropping. As a result, Landlords spent more on labor but gained very little profit. On the other hand, the lives of laborers vastly improved since they could now afford healthier living conditions. The peasants worked for more than one master and were hired instantly after moving from one land to another. Therefore, the lords were required to make necessary changes to make the status quo more lucrative for the peasants and retain them in their land (James, 2011).

In entire Europe, many people were socially affected by the black death. They abandoned their families and friends, moved to other cities, and isolated themselves from the world. As the plague continued to spread across the villages, the efforts to cure the infected people and end its spread also failed. People additionally lost their faith in religious institutions they had previously relied on. The serfs were more susceptible due to the poor living conditions that placed them in close contact with one another compared to the elites (Peters, 2010). Some thought that God was angry and so focused on prayers to fight the plague while others wanted to obey the saying, "Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow is not promised." Consequently, society experienced a lot of confusion, and by the time the plague had run its course, the European social structure was already unrecognizable.

Effect Bubonic Plague to the Psychology of Medieval People

The psychological impacts of the bubonic plague penetrated in all the areas of society. It had a significant impact on peoples' perspectives on life (DeWitte, 2014). Not one person was safe from the plague, and the minute it was contracted, one was assured of a painful and horrible death. Therefore, some people lived immoral and wild lives, while others were terrified and depressed as they tried to accept their fate. The majority of the population were bitter, angry, and blamed religion (James, 2011). As the plague attacked different villages, people could see it approaching. Even when they did not felt its impact directly, every person's response was different (DeWitte, 2014). Some people become insane, and others sought atonement. The order broke down in some villages as violence and crime surged. This brought about a strong conservative thirst for social stability even as the feudal network and the church stability gnawed away. Besides, many people became more isolationists and xenophobic. After facing and surviving the plague, most people were depressed, devastated, guilt-ridden, and resigned for surviving while others were delighted. According to James (2011), the lower class group in society was more than ready to question their position in society. They were furthermore eager and opportunistic in their effort to improve their standards of living. Therefore, the bubonic plague had a psychological impact that was visible in the manner in which the population viewed life.

Impact of Bubonic Plague on the Decline of European Serfdom

The plague brought the ultimate death of Serfdom (Peters, 2010). Severe depopulation and immigration from villages to cities caused a dire scarcity of agricultural workers hence raising the cost of labor. Peasants had enhanced opportunities to vend their labor, which freed them from Serfdom. After the plague, the wealthy class was disturbed in that the serfs began to forget their place, and so they challenged them. Additionally, there was a dramatic change in fashion as the elite class called for more extravagant accessories and clothing to differentiate themselves from the peasants who could not afford fine clothes than their previous blankets and rags (Peters, 2010). Efforts of the elite to take back the serf to their previous conditions lead to rebellions such as the Peasants Uprising of London in 1381, the guild uprisings of 1378 CE, and the peasant rebellion in France in 1358 CE (James, 2011). Nonetheless, there was no turning back, and the effort of the wealthy was fruitless. Thus, after the Bubonic plague, the class struggle did not come to an end, but the power and authority of the medieval system were shattered completely.

Conclusion

Many people lost their lives due to the Black Death plague. Besides, the peasants were the majority effect as the economy become greatly affected by inflation. Also, due to severe depopulation as a result of high mortality, there was a shortage of laborers that led to an increase in the cost of labor. Besides, the fear, anxiety, death introduced by Black Death had some major psychological effects, particularly on the Medieval population. They were angry, bitter, and blamed the religion for such effects. They had previously hoped that the church would give the answers to the plague, but it failed. Similarly, the serfs became choosy and expensive about their place of work and their relationship with the landlords, which eventually brought an end to European Serfdom. Therefore, the effects of Black Death were severe and were felt not only in the economic and social aspects of the population in Europe, such as Medieval people and Serfdom but also in religious aspects.

References

DeWitte, S. N. (2014). Mortality risk and survival in the aftermath of the medieval Black Death. PloS one, 9(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0096513

James, T. (2011). Black Death: The lasting impact. Retrieved May 10, 2020, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/black_impact_01.shtml

Peters, M. (2010, January). Labor markets after the black death: Landlord collusion and the imposition of Serfdom in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. In Prepared for the Stanford Comparative Politics Workshop (pp. 1-47). Retrieved May 10, 2020, from https://swap.stanford.edu/20141111001542/https://politicalscience.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/workshop-materials/cp_peters.pdf