the crisis of the later middle ages, 1300-1450
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The Crisis of the Later Middle Ages, 1300-1450
Chapter 12Climate Change and Famine
The end of the Middle Ages & the beginning of the early modern
era Horrific disasters Significant changes in econ & social structures Significant changes in people’s ideas Societal tensions
Changing attitudes toward the religious institution The Catholic Church
“fur collar” crimes Relationships and sexuality Ethnic consciousness
A time preoccupied with death – European life reshaped & reborn
The 14th C
Key Concepts
Climate change and epidemic About ½ the
population of Eur. died within a few years Significant and
long lasting impact
Climate Change &
Famine Historical geographers
conclude 1300-1450 was a “little Ice Age” Colder & wetter Scarcity due to
destroyed crops Great Famine 1315-
1322 Reduced population
(Burgundy 1/3 pop. Died)
Epidemics
Reduced human & animal pop. Homesteads abandoned Vagabonds (wandering homeless) Marriages delayed Smaller pop. less demand in markets – urban
unemployment
Climate Change & Famine
Climate Change &
Famine Government response
Ineffective Tried to control speculation Estab. price controls Encouraged long-distance
trade Particularly with Italy
Improved sailing ships
Opened new routes Discontent vented on
Wealthy Jews lepers
International Trade – Spread of disease
Rats & insects The Black Death
Origin – China Arrived – Genoese ships 1347 Spread by fleas on rats – bubonic Spread by air - Pneumonic form
Cities – poor sanitary condition Attempts to prevent
Quarantine Improving sanitation Eradicating “the poisons” in the air Treatment lancing & bloodletting
Climate Change & Famine
death by plague is horrible and rapid the disease is caused by a bacterium, Yersinia
pestis after infection, once a fever has started, the
patient may be dead within 12-15 hours the disintegration of bodily functions leads to
massive necrosis (death) of tissues the fingers and toes literally turn black and
large painful buboes (swellings) form in the lymph glands of neck, groin and armpit
The Biology of the Plague
Transmission of plague
under the unsanitary conditions of the middle ages it is not surprising that disease was rampant
plague virus became endemic in the rat population of Europe fleas that bit the rat and then a man would transmit the bacterium the rats acted as a reservoir, maintaining the bacterial population the flea was the vector that transmitted the Yersinia from rat to man the bacterium actually grows in the flea and blocks its digestive tract the flea gets very hungry, but when it bites its next host, it can't
swallow the blood and regurgitates back into the host once in the animals blood, the bacterium moves to the lymph nodes
and survives in phagocytes an overwhelming infection ensues the victim is often dead within a week
The flea
Climate Change &
Famine The blame belongs to –
Jews 1000s were murdered in
mob violence Human sinfulness
Punishment from God The clergy’s role
Ministered to the ill High death rate among
clergy Loss of clergy led bishops
to permit lay administration of the sacraments.
Climate Change &
Famine Religion and the Plague –
Seeds of Change
Many questioned their faith
The bishops decision to allow lay administration of the sacraments will have consequences during the Reformation
The Economic Consequences
Aristocratic prosperity was disrupted – temporarily Florence – new members to the guild accepted General inflation Shortage of labor
Rise in real wages Laws sought to prevent rise is wages
English Statute of Laborers Standard of living in towns went up Per capita wealth increased Peasants even had greater mobility
Climate Change & Famine
Labor & the Plague – Seeds of Change
The Shortage of labor meant urban workers and peasants could negotiate better terms for themselves Rare situation in European history
Improvement in econ. conditions led to stabilization of pop.
Employers and nobles tried to revert to lower wages and higher manorial obligations…they only partially succeeded
Climate Change & Famine
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