Tag: Black Death

Teaching the Black Death: Using Medieval Medical Treatments to Develop Historical Thinking

Teaching the Black Death: Using Medieval Medical Treatments to Develop Historical Thinking

Katelin Hornsby

Few historical events capture students’ attention as immediately as the Black Death. The scale of devastation, the drama of symptoms, and the rapid spread of disease all make it an inherently compelling topic. But beyond the shock value, medieval responses to the plague open the door to something far more important for social studies education: historical thinking. When students first encounter medieval cures like bloodletting, vinegar-soaked sponges, herbal compounds like theriac, or even the infamous “live chicken treatment”, their instinct is often to laugh or dismiss the past as ignorant. Yet these remedies, when studied carefully, reveal a medical system that was logical, coherent, and deeply rooted in the scientific frameworks of its time. Teaching plague medicine provides teachers with a powerful opportunity to challenge presentism, develop students’ contextual understanding, and foster empathy for people whose worldview differed radically from our own. Drawing on research into plague treatments during the Black Death, this article offers teachers accessible background knowledge, addresses common misconceptions, and provides practical strategies and primary-source approaches that use medieval medicine to strengthen disciplinary literacy and historical reasoning in the social studies classroom.

Understanding medieval plague medicine begins with understanding humoral theory, the dominant medical framework of the period. Medieval Europeans believed that the body’s health depended on maintaining balance among the four humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile (Leong, 2017). Illness occurred when these fluids fell out of proportion, making the plague less a foreign invader and more a catastrophic imbalance. Bloodletting was one of the most common responses, meant to “draw off the poisoned blood” and reduce fever. Other strategies included induced vomiting or purging, both intended to remove corrupted humors from the body. Treatises such as Bengt Knutsson’s The Dangers of Corrupt Air emphasized both prevention and treatment through the regulation of sensory experiences, most famously through the use of vinegar (Knuttson, 1994). Its sharp and purifying qualities made it useful for cleansing internal humors or blocking the inhalation of dangerous air. Though these methods seem foreign to modern readers, they reflect a rational system built upon centuries of inherited medical theory, offering students a clear example of how people in the past interpreted disease through the frameworks available to them.

Herbal and compound remedies were equally important in medieval plague treatment and worked in tandem with humoral correction. One of the most famous was theriac, a complex blend of dozens of ingredients including myrrh, cinnamon, opiates, and various roots (Fabbri, 2007). Practitioners believed that theriac fortified the heart and expelled harmful humors, with its complexity symbolizing the combined power of nature’s properties. Other remedies included ginger-infused ale, used to stimulate internal heat, or cupping, which involved applying heated horns or glasses to the skin in order to draw corrupted blood toward the surface. These treatments show the synthesis of classical medical texts, practical experimentation, and local knowledge. When teachers present these treatments in the classroom, students will begin to see medieval medicine not as random or superstitious, but as a sophisticated system shaped by observation, tradition, and reason.

Medieval healing also extended into the emotional and spiritual realms, reflecting the belief that physical and internal states were interconnected. Chroniclers described how fear and melancholy could hasten death, leading many to encourage celebrations, laughter, and community gatherings even during outbreaks. A monastic account from Austria advised people to “cheer each other up,” suggesting that joy strengthened the heart’s resilience. At the same time, religious writers like Dom Theophilus framed plague as both a physical and spiritual crisis, prescribing prayer, confession, and communion as essential components of healing. These practices did not replace medical treatment but complemented it, emphasizing the medieval tendency to view health holistically. Introducing students to these lifestyle-based treatments helps them recognize the complexity of medieval worldviews, where spirituality, emotion, and physical health were deeply intertwined.

Because plague remedies can appear unusual or ineffective to modern students, several misconceptions tend to arise in the classroom. Many students initially view medieval people as ignorant or irrational, evaluating the past through the lens of modern scientific understanding. When teachers contextualize treatments within humoral theory and medieval medical logic, students begin to appreciate the internal coherence of these ideas. Another misconception is that medieval treatments never worked. While these remedies could not cure the plague itself, many offered symptom relief, soothed discomfort, or prevented secondary infections, revealing that medieval medicine was neither wholly ineffective nor devoid of empirical reasoning (Archambeu, 2011). Students also often assume that religious explanations dominated all responses to disease. Examining both medical treatises and spiritual writings demonstrates that medieval responses were multifaceted, blending empirical, experiential, and religious approaches simultaneously. These insights naturally support classroom strategies that promote historical thinking.

Inquiry-based questioning works particularly well with plague treatments. Asking students, “Why would this treatment make sense within medieval beliefs about the body?” encourages them to reason from evidence rather than impose modern judgments. Primary-source stations using texts such as The Arrival of the Plague or The Treatise of John of Burgundy allow students to compare remedies, analyze explanations of disease, and evaluate the reliability and purpose of each author (Horrox, 1994). A creative but historically grounded activity involves inviting students to “design” a medieval plague remedy using humoral principles, requiring them to justify their choices based on qualities such as hot, cold, wet, and dry. Such exercises not only build understanding of the medieval worldview but also reinforce core social studies skills like sourcing, contextualization, and corroboration. Even broader reflections, such as comparing medieval interpretations of disease to modern debates about public health, can help students think critically about how societies make sense of crisis.

Teaching plague medicine carries powerful instructional implications. It fosters historical empathy by encouraging students to see past actions within their cultural context. It strengthens disciplinary literacy through close reading of primary sources and evaluation of evidence. It challenges misconceptions and reduces presentism, helping students develop a mature understanding of the past. The topic also naturally lends itself to interdisciplinary thinking, drawing connections between science, history, culture, and religion. Ultimately, medieval plague treatments offer teachers a rich opportunity to show students how historical interpretations develop through careful analysis of belief systems, available knowledge, and environmental conditions.

The Black Death will always capture students’ imaginations, but its true educational value lies in what it allows them to practice: empathy, critical thinking, and contextual reasoning. By reframing medieval treatments not as bizarre relics but as rational responses grounded in their own scientific traditions, teachers can transform a sensational topic into a meaningful lens for understanding how people in the past made sense of the world. In doing so, plague medicine becomes more than an engaging subject; it becomes a model for how historical study can illuminate the logic, resilience, and humanity of societies long removed from our own.

References

A fifteenth-century treatise on pestilence. (1994). In R. Horrox (Ed. & Trans.), The Black Death (pp. 193–194). Manchester University Press.

Archambeau, N. (2011). Healing options during the plague: Survivor stories from a fourteenth century canonization inquest. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 85(4), 531–559. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44452234 

Fabbri, C. N. (2007). Treating medieval plague: The wonderful virtues of theriac. Early

Science and Medicine, 12(3), 247–283. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20617676 

Knutsson, B. (1994). The dangers of corrupt air. In R. Horrox (Ed. & Trans.), The Black Death (pp. 175–177). Manchester University Press.

Paris Medical Faculty. (1994). The report of the Paris medical faculty, October 1348. In R. Horrox (Ed. & Trans.), The Black Death (pp. 158–163). Manchester University Press.

Heinrichs, E. A. (2017). The live chicken treatment for buboes: Trying a plague cure in medieval and early modern Europe. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 91(2), 210–232. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26311051 

Leong, E., & Rankin, A. (2017). Testing drugs and trying cures: Experiment and medicine in medieval and early modern Europe. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 91(2), 157–182. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26311049 

The Plague in Central Europe. (1994). In R. Horrox (Ed. & Trans.), The Black Death (pp. 193–194). Manchester University Press. de’ Mussis, G. (1994). The arrival of the plague. In R. Horrox (Ed. & Trans.), The Black Death  (p. 25). Manchester University Press.

The treatise of John of Burgundy. (1994). In R. Horrox (Ed. & Trans.), The Black Death (pp. 184–192). Manchester University Press.

Theophilus, D. (1994). A wholesome medicine against the plague. In R. Horrox (Ed. & Trans.), The Black Death (pp. 149–153). Manchester University Press.

The transmission of plague. (1994). In R. Horrox (Ed. & Trans.), The Black Death (pp. 182–184). Manchester University Press.

Combating and Treating the Black Death

Combating and Treating the Black Death

Annabell Farr

Imagine a deadly disease ripping through your town and the only hope of survival is in the hands of health workers who rely on established medical knowledge and practical methods in desperate attempts to save your lives. During the late Medieval period between 1347 and 1351, the Black Death stirred chaos across Europe including cities in France and Italy, killing millions of people who were in its deadly path. It brought out great fear and uncertainty in surviving resulting in the use of a variety of treatment methods, blending these practices with religious beliefs and supernatural beliefs. These different approaches reveal just how much medical knowledge at the time was shaped by pre-established knowledge, traditional theories, and practical methods from the past, raising the question: How did health workers attempt to treat and combat the plague during the Medieval period? During the medieval period, health workers attempted to combat and treat the Black Death by mixing established medical knowledge and practical methods together. Methods like theriac, bloodletting, air purifications and experimental treatments from the past like imperial powder, put together traditional healing treatments with evolving practices. This approach will show how past medical knowledge and evolving practices were used by health workers to treat and combat the Black Death. This will also show both the intellectual growth and evolution of medical treatments and methods. 

These health workers were very diverse in their levels of medical knowledge; some were volunteers, nuns, inexperienced physicians and barber surgeons. Even though they had diverse levels of expertise, they all played the biggest role in the plague, giving treatments to those who fell victim to the Black Death. This approach highlights the play between practical methods, established medical knowledge, adaptation, and preventive measures in combating the plague. 

Historiography 

Health workers were trying to fight back at the Black Death using practical methods like bloodletting, which was brought up from past medical knowledge and public health rules growing at the time. As health workers were desperately trying to deal with the crisis the Black Death was bringing, the use of practical and hygienic measures were used as an attempt to help those falling ill. One attempt that was seen in treating the plague was the process of bloodletting. Neil Murphy’s article, “Plague Ordinances and the Management of Infectious Diseases in Northern French Towns, c.1450-c.1560,” goes into detail of the developments of public health systems and the ordinances that shaped the responses to the plague.[1] Murphy is arguing that these ordinances emerged from evolving strategies like those in Italy, were connected to cultural and intellectual contexts bringing together medical theories with practical actions. Murphy in this emphasizes the practice of bloodletting, which was performed by barber surgeons or surgeons. This procedure was aimed at removing contaminated blood, slowing down the disease in the body.2 This method shows the connection between the medical theories at the time and practical actions taken, which were shaped by the intellectual contexts of this time.

Past strategies were seen greatly in these attempts along with bloodletting, another we see is attempts in changing emotional and medical practices through survival stories. From survivors’ stories, we can understand attempts made during this time to stop the plague, especially through health workers trying to help based on past medical knowledge and practical treatments similarly to past knowledge on bloodletting. Nicole Archambeau in “Healing Options during the Plague: Survivor Stories from a Fourteenth-Century Canonization Inquest”, shows great emphasis in the intellectual context of medicines and its “miracles” on those it healed, showing how beliefs and medical practices intersected to shape the responses to the plague.[2] At this time, some people wanted healing methods combining religious and practical approaches, including methods of emotional changes. Archambeau argued that “Witnesses had healing options’… their testimonies reveal a willingness to try many different methods of healing, often all at once”[3] This shows how survivors were relying on any type of resources from family, friends and health workers connecting their beliefs and intellectual medical practices at this time. Health workers adapted their methods of helping based on the resources that were available as well as on the patients’ wants and needs. This highlights the adaptability and flexibility these health workers had for their patients and their commitment to help treat those suffering during this time of horror and devastation.

Similarly, through the past medical knowledge, health workers relied on giving treatments that blended intellectual medical knowledge with practical methods to attempt treating the plague. Another piece to these treatments we see is a compound called theriac. Christiane Nockels Fabbri’s article “Treating Medieval Plague: The Wonderful Virtues of Theriac,” shows the use of Theriac, a compound that has been used as an antidote since ancient times, being a crucial treatment during the Black Death. Fabbri argues that the use of Theriac in these treatments demonstrates how health workers applied this traditional remedy to this new disease showing conservatism of these medical practices. Fabbri states how “In plague medicine, theriac was used as both a preventive and therapeutic drug and was most likely beneficial for a variety of disease complaints.”[4] This shows how health workers relied on this because of its practical efficiency and its intellectual and cultural significance in the past.

From these three sources, it is clear to see how they all were similar in how health workers tended to link past medical knowledge with their practical methods to help suffering, showing how they attempted to go about treating the plague. Treatments like bloodletting, personal wanted miracle methods and theriac were just a few of the ways they attempted to help those who got sick. My analysis highlights how these treatments were based on public health measures that were put into cities to help maintain and stop the spreading of the plague. Ordinances aimed to help isolate the disease and keep calm over the chaos that the plague was bringing into town. These helped to create a framework that helped health workers approach how they would attempt to treat those who fell sick.

Practical Methods

One of the main and well-known treatments given by health workers during this time was a drug called theriac. This type of medicine was extremely popular in its effectiveness and was wanted by victims once they fell ill or were scared that they would fall ill. In “The real Theriac – panacea, poisonous drug or quackery?” by Raj, Danuta, Katarzyna Pękacka-Falkowska, Maciej Włodarczyk and Jakub Węglorz, talks about this compound and its ability to remove diseases and poison from the body and how it was a well-known and used drug during the medieval period; “Consequently, Theriac was being prepared during epidemics, especially the plague  (Black Death), in large quantities as a form of emergency medicine (Griffin, 2004).”[5] Relying on theriac as a direct treatment, health workers showed their commitment to using this accessible great drug that was well known, to make people confident that this treatment would work during a time of uncertainty and devastation.

Correspondingly, we see another direct form of treatment that health workers used to treat those who had the plague, bloodletting. Health workers would prick veins to do this.  This was a way of extracting bad blood from the body to restore its balance. We see this in document 62 “The Treatise of John of Burgundy, 1365” written by John Burgundy. It projects the practical medical knowledge at the time that health workers were applying to treat those who have been hit with the Black Death. Burgundy continues to talk about the use of bloodletting, informing that “If, however, the patient feels prickings in the region of the liver, blood should be let immediately from the basilic vein of the right arm (that is the vein belonging to the liver, which is immediately below the vein belonging to the heart)”[6]. He is giving a specific technique to address this issue, giving us a practical method of treatment that shows how health workers used these hands-on treatments to combat the plague

These two methods were greatly known during the medieval period. They both offered hope to those who were desperate and wanting treatment so they would not die. These treatments at this time offered the feeling of control to the scary situation for its victims and gave a sense of hope to get better. Knowing theriac and bloodletting were used as treatment for victims, it helped to feel less overwhelmed and made it seem like health workers would be the redeeming feature to their deadly crisis.

Established Medical Knowledge

During the medieval period, health workers were able to recognize and understand that miasma, contaminated air, was the main causing factor of why the Black Death was spreading so much and killing everyone in its path. Due to this understanding, they implemented environmental purification strategies to end exposure of miasma. “The dangers of corrupted air” by Bengt Knutsson, shows great emphasis on this fear of the contaminated air and goes into methods that were used and done to cleanse the space and environment people were living in. A practice that health workers implemented to stop the miasma from taking over was to “Therefore let your house be clean and make clear fire of wood flaming. Let your house be made with fumigation of herbs, that is to say with leaves of bay tree, juniper…”[7] while also explaining opening windows at certain times and remedies if you feel sick.[8] These techniques reflect how established medical knowledge can be used in order to come up with ways to treat and combat the plague. Including the purification methods into the plague’s prevention by health workers, they were able to adapt with their knowledge on air quality and turn that into strategies to combat the Black Death. 

Through the fears of the Black Death, health workers were relying on past medical knowledge, practices and strategies to manage the spread of this disease and to treat those who have been infected. The “Ordinances against the spread of plague, Pistoia, 1348” elaborates on how these workers used their past medical knowledge to reduce the spread and create a safer environment to go about treatments. This chronicler explains limiting your exposure to those who are ill by completely restricting people and patients’ interactions.[9] This will provide health  workers with the safest opportunity to apply these treatments, like bloodletting or giving theriac, in a more controlled environment. This approach further reflects the combination of traditional medical knowledge and practical adaptations so then health workers could attempt to combat the plague’s destruction.

Health workers relied heavily on past medical knowledge and theories during this time of uncertainty to combat the Black Death, bringing together adaptations with established knowledge. The understanding of bad air being the cause helped them greatly in purification techniques like burning the herbs to mask the miasma. The ordinances stressing the need for isolation and restriction for interactions to give a safer environment for the health workers showed their adaptability to meet the demands of the plague as well as their preservation of historical medical theories of those in the past doing it. This shows the continuity and innovation that came during this period when trying to understand and combat the plague. 

Adaptation and Preventative Measures

One way that health workers attempted to treat and combat the plague was through the development of treatments that were adapted from past medical knowledge. An example of this was imperial powder, in John Burgundy’s “The Treatise of Burgundy, 1365” being known as a “powerful preventative” that was thought of to be stronger than theriac. Burgundy explains how “gentile emperors used it against epidemic illness, poison and venom, and against the bite of serpents and other poisonous animals”[10] This powder was made from some herbs like St John’s wort, medicinal earth from Lemnos and dittany which shows us the diverse ingredients to kill off poison that were believed from the past and venoms that were inside the body. To use this powder, they would either apply it directly to the skin or by mixing it with a drink like wine for ingestion purposes. This shows the health workers willingness to experiment with past medical treatments to adapt it to the current plague they were going through, to find a better treatment for the Black Death. 

Looking past medical treatments, to do them, health workers were implementing strict isolation strategies in order to combat and limit the spread of plague while also keeping the environment safe in order to treat those who fell ill. “The plague in Avignon” by Louis Heyligen shows emphasis on this isolation of staying away from neighboring areas and people so then health workers can do what they needed to do to help. This was an attempt made to manage the spreading of the disease through the town.  It states how “…avoid getting cold, and refrain from any excess, and above all mix little with people – unless it be with few who have healthy breath; but it is best to stay at home until the epidemic has passed”[11].  Having this advising gives the reflection of the public health strategies that were employed in the cities being tied to medical treatments, because limiting the exposure would directly allow more health workers to safely treat those who were sick and in need of treatments. Trying to minimize contact with one another was a great strategy in controlling the transmission to get the disease to slow down in spreading. From the emotions brought on from the Black Death, it shows the willingness people were taking, to make it safer conditions outside for families and health workers.

Combining both the experimental treatments like imperial powder with the isolation policies, it opened the view of just how much health workers were combining the preexisting medical knowledge with their preventative measures to successfully combat the plague while treating it. Having this adaptability further influences medical practices and lays a greater foundation for future prevention strategies for diseases that come. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, we have explored several ways in which health workers attempted to treat the plague and combat it through pre-stablished medical knowledge and practical methods. These health workers, being remarkably diverse in who they were, applied many strategies and methods that were used including enforcing strict public health ordinances, the practice of bloodletting by barber surgeons, air purifications, use of Theriac and experimenting with the use of the imperial powder to attempt treating the plague. These health workers showed great standing adaptability to what was going on while building off the existing knowledge of medical treatments to address the deadliest crisis in history. This analysis gives a deeper understanding of medical knowledge and how they used their past resources to understand and try to save those who contracted this disease. Also, this shows how these attempts were deeply rooted into the intellectual history of these times through health workers drawing information from past medical scholars and past knowledge to gain a better understanding in how to perform their practices and methods. Involving themselves in this intellectual history, they were putting a building block on top of centuries of their medical knowledge through experimenting with it and adding new responses to how they attempted to treat their new disease. These contributions to the Black Death only strengthens our understanding of past medical history during the Black Death and past centuries. 

References

Archambeau, Nicole. “Healing Options during the Plague: Survivor Stories from a Fourteenth-Century Canonization Inquest.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine 85, no. 4 (2011):  531–59. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44452234.

Burgundy, “The Treatise of Burgundy, 1365” pp.184-193

Chiappelli, A. “Ordinances against the Spread of Plague, Pistoia, 1348.” pp 194- 203

Fabbri, Christiane Nockels. “Treating Medieval Plague: The Wonderful Virtues of Theriac.” Early Science and Medicine 12, no. 3 (2007): 247–83. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20617676. Heyligen, “The Plague in Avignon.” pp.41-45

Horrox, R., ed. The Black Death (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1994).

Knutsson, “The dangers of corrupted air” pp.173-177  

 Murphy, Neil. “Plague Ordinances and the Management of Infectious Diseases in Northern French Towns, c.1450–c.1560.” In The Fifteenth Century XII: Society in an Age of Plague, edited by Linda Clark and Carole Rawcliffe, 139-160. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer, 2013

Raj, Danuta, Katarzyna Pękacka-Falkowska, Maciej Włodarczyk, and Jakub Węglorz. 2021.  “The Real Theriac – Panacea, Poisonous Drug or Quackery?” Journal of          Ethnopharmacology 281 (December): N.PAG. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2021.114535.   

[1] Murphy, Neil. “Plague Ordinances and the Management of Infectious Diseases in Northern French Towns, c.1450–c.1560.” In The Fifteenth Century XII: Society in an Age of Plague, edited by Linda Clark and Carole Rawcliffe, 139-160. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer, 2013 2 Murphy, 146.

[2] Archambeau, Nicole. “Healing Options during the Plague: Survivor Stories from a Fourteenth Century Canonization Inquest.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine 85, no. 4 (2011): 531–59. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44452234.

[3] Archambeau, 537.

[4] Fabbri, Christiane Nockels. “Treating Medieval Plague: The Wonderful Virtues of Theriac.” Early Science and Medicine 12, no. 3 (2007): 247–83. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20617676.  

[5] Raj, Danuta, Katarzyna Pękacka-Falkowska, Maciej Włodarczyk, and Jakub Węglorz. 2021. “The Real Theriac – Panacea, Poisonous Drug or Quackery?” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 281 (December): N.PAG.

[6] Burgundy, “The Treatise of Burgundy, 1365” in The Black Death, ed. And trans. Rosemary Horrox (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1994), 189.

[7] Knutsson, “The dangers of corrupted air” p.176

[8] Knutsson, “The dangers of corrupted air,” p.176

[9] Chiappelli, “Ordinances against the spread of plague, Pistoia, 1348,” p. 195 

[10] Burgundy, “The Treatise of Burgundy, 1365” p.190

[11] Heyligen, “The Plague in Avignon” p. 45

The Black Plague: A Positive Spin on Death?

A Positive Spin on Death?

By Mitchell Meyer

Introduction

How can mass mortality be viewed in a positive light? This is a question that arises when it comes to contemporary discussions of the fourteenth-century Black Death epidemic which wiped out nearly one-third of the population of Europe.[1] It is difficult to understate the immediate negative consequences of the Plague as it dismembered families, ripped apart social structures, and threw the economy into shock. Yet, some historians have now come to see the depopulation of the continent as a sort of necessary evil. Shortages of resources and job opportunities were prevalent by the beginning of the fourteenth century, especially in England, the country this paper will focus on.[2] In contrast, the Plague eliminated the shortages caused by overpopulation which immediately increased demand for workers. This led to increased wage growth and the widening of options of employment for average civilians. So, did the Black Death have a more positive or negative short-term impact on the English labor force? This essay argues that while the epidemic brought about a period of brief devastation, it ultimately eased the shortages of the years that preceded it leading to rapid labor reform which can be seen in first-hand accounts and the post-plague policies aimed at curtailing it.

The Malthusian crisis

            The advancements made by laborers as a result of the Black Death can most obviously be seen by comparing their circumstances from before and after the Plague’s onset. As mentioned previously, it is therefore important to begin by establishing the former. This can be done by analyzing “The Statute of Labourers,” a 1351 policy put in place by the English government which attempted to maintain the social structure that was present before the epidemic. In so doing, the law continuously reverts back to the conditions of the “20th year of the king’s reign” which refers to 1346, just one year before the onset of the Black Death.[3] One of the Statute’s stipulations is that most employees, especially in agricultural fields could not be hired for periods less than a year, or other extended tenures that existed beforehand.[4] This severely limited the options of laborers and forced them to remain in jobs that might not pay as well as others. Therefore, not only were there severe shortages of jobs in England during the beginning of the fourteenth century, but workers were often unable to switch jobs, being signed for lengthy terms of service. Furthermore, the Statute makes it clear that virtually no benefits were offered by employers. Laborers were therefore expected to work for their dwindling salaries alone.[5] This shows a circumstance in which there was such a high supply of workers, that employers did not need to create many incentives to fill their openings.

            Karakacili furthers the image of pre-Plague life that the Statute of Labourers provides. Her findings show that the majority of workers in England at the time were farmers. And just as the provisions of the Statute mandated certain tenures of service for employees, Karakacili claims that much of the labor by said farmers was completed by serfs. In addition, Karakacili applies the Malthusian crisis she explains earlier to the predicament of English laborers. As such, she claims that “the average output of a farm worker did not suffice…to feed him or herself.”[6] Therefore, wages were so low, and resources were so scarce, that the majority of people were not able to provide for themselves. But workers remained in their struggling positions because it was likely the best they could achieve.[7] So, in this situation as well, workers were limited in their ability to leave their jobs, both because they were legally prevented from doing so, and because there were very few other viable options.

Diminishing Limitations

All aspects of society were affected by the Black Death, and limitations for employees in England were no exception. To this point, Alfani and Murphy explain in “Plague and Lethal Epidemics” that “an inequality decline after a severe mortality is what we should expect.”[8] By this, they mean that various economic consequences of epidemics contribute to a narrowing of the wage gap. This is because as the population declines, so does the supply of labor. And the general rule of economics that Alfani and Murphy outline is that as a resource becomes scarcer, it becomes more expensive.[9] This was clearly the case with the Black Death as it had one of the highest mortality rates of any epidemic in history. Therefore, the mortality of the Plague diminished the supply of workers which immediately led to increased wages and competition between employers for laborers.

            The increase in competition for English laborers can be seen in various accounts of serfs leaving their old employers behind as there were finally better options available. As such, after the Black Death, there are abundant instances showing the diminishing disconnect between serfs and their masters as the former could now achieve sustainable compensation. An account of the East Riding estates of Meaux Abbey in the 1350s outlines several examples of serfs discovering new opportunities in the wake of the Plague. In one instance, the account describes a series of serfs bound to the church in the town of Wawne. However, it goes on to ridicule them saying that despite their long history of being bound to serve the church, they have declared themselves free of their service. Still, it does not say that they just left to wander about the country. Rather, they called themselves servants of the king as they “apparently considered it more glorious to be…royal serfs.”[10] Another example of this trend comes in the Durham hallmoot book of 1350-55 which discusses the experiences of a lord in northern England whose serfs abandon him. These farmers are described as “malicious” as their actions were seen as a betrayal of the master they were bound to. Again though, they are not seen as completely leaving their jobs altogether, but with the intention to “tak[e] holdings elsewhere.”[11] This shows the occurrence of the pattern that Alfani and Murphy discuss. The Black Death wiped out so many workers that demand for them increased dramatically thereby widening the prospects of the labor force. As a result, workers who previously had no hope of ever leaving their insufficient circumstances, could now easily find work elsewhere and for better wages. The serfs of Wawne and Durham are emblematic of this trend as they departed their old livelihoods for better ones in the wake of the Black Death upheaval.

Post-Plague Policies

            The Black Death’s economic consequences can be seen not only in firsthand accounts, but also in the legislation instituted by governments following it. Leading Plague historian Samuel Cohn discusses such legislation in his article “After the Black Death: Labour legislation and attitudes towards labour” in which he outlines the motivation behind it and its differences throughout Europe. Cohn explains that these policies were put in place to stimy the supposed advancements that laborers were making as a result of the fear and anxiety that accompanied the great mortality.[12] As Herlihy explained, the Black Death represented an unalterable shift in the labor dynamics of the fourteenth century[13] and this perception was felt throughout Europe just as Cohn describes. Therefore, the reverberations of the Plague on English labor can be seen in post-epidemic policies aimed at curtailing them.

            An example of these post-Plague policies is that of Simon Sudbury who as the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 1370s was the foremost religious leader in England behind the Pope. In a 1378 letter to the Bishop of London, Sudbury lays out both his displeasure with the changes in labor, and his solution to them. He thus begins by describing his own priests as “infected with the sin of greed” for they had been selling their services for “vastly inflated salaries” outside the church.[14] In response, the Archbishop raises the wages of the priests in order to get them to stay, but also imposes strict penalties for those would still not adhere to the new salaries.[15] Sudbury’s letter thus proves that post-plague advancements were not only occurring for farmers and serfs, but also for members of the church. This situation widens the scope of Black Death reform from the lowliest peasants to include the clergy as well.

            The hallmark of English post-Plague labor legislation came in the form of the aforementioned 1351 Statute of Labourers which attempted to return the social order to the characteristics it embodied five years earlier.[16] It therefore made it illegal for workers to sign employment contracts that were binding for less than a year, instituted strict salaries for various jobs that were not to be exceeded, and required that employers offer no benefits to their laborers.[17] Its fears of workers making advancements are confirmed by the various accounts of individuals being charged for violating it. In a 1353 case in the town of Lincoln, a ploughman named John Skit is described as fleeing to “distant parts,” fearing his prosecution for accepting a new job under better working conditions before his contract was concluded.[18] In a similar 1360 case from Bolingbroke, a bishop named Alan is recorded as being charged forty pence for leaving his employment to a figure known as “Lady Roos” before his term of service was over.[19] Another case from 1374 describes a so-called “vagabond” named Richard Rote as being placed in stocks until he agreed to work again. However, the case also claims that two people attempted to free Rote, openly defying the provisions of the Statute of Labourers.[20] There are countless examples of violations of the Statue, thereby showing how labor reform was in fact taking place.

Conclusion

            It is not at all difficult to point out the destructive repercussions of the Black Death. By eliminating one-third of the population of Europe, it tore apart institutions, families, and impacted nearly every corner of society. However, there has emerged a sound argument for the Plague having a positive effect on English labor. Before the epidemic ravaged the country, England, like most places in the continent, was suffering immense shortages in both resources and job opportunities. However morbidly, the Black Death’s mortality ended this crisis and opened up the job market. As there were now shortages of workers, employers were forced to raise wages and benefits, and laborers could now leave their jobs (albeit illegally according to the Statutes) as there were other viable options. This trend was not without resistance and the English government attempted to stimy the advancements of employees in order to maintain the social structure. But, these policies prove that reform was indeed taking place, especially since there are many documented violations of them. As such, these circumstances beg the question, was the English workforce more positively or negatively affected by the Black Death? By ending the Malthusian Crisis of the early fourteenth century, the Plague opened up the job market increasing wages and opportunities for average English workers in a way that would not be seen again for centuries.

Uses for Education

            At this point, it seems appropriate to ask, so what? What does an epidemic from the fourteenth century have to do with your classroom today, 700 years later. Well, especially considering the events of the last few years, it seems almost more relevant than ever before. The Coronavirus Pandemic we all experienced is perfect fodder for a compare and contrast activity. A clear example is the fact that the Coronavirus was classified as a pandemic but was less deadly. Why was this the case? What were the characteristics of each that they were classified differently? Furthermore, one could easily conduct a simulation with this lesson. It might be a good idea to have the students imagine the methods they would use to handle the Black Death epidemic which might rationalize some of the actions taken by Plague doctors. And if you’re looking for a lesson specifically concerning the labor reforms discussed in this article, consider tying it in with your economics unit. It’s a clear example of supply and demand. There is definitely no shortage of options for lessons on this topic, which could be an eye-opening, yet relatable subject for your class.

References

Secondary sources

Alfani, Guido, and Murphy, Tommy. “Plague and Lethal Epidemics in the Pre-Industrial World.” The Journal of Economic History 77, no. 1 (2017): 314–43.

Bardsley, Sandy. “Women’s Work Reconsidered: Gender and Wage Differentiation in Late Medieval England.” Past & Present, No. 165 (Nov. 1999): 3-29

Cohn, Samuel. “After the Black Death: Labour Legislation and Attitudes Towards Labour in Late-Medieval Western Europe.” The Economic History Review 60, no. 3 (2007): 457–85

Herlihy, David. “The New Economic and Demographic System.” In The Black Death and the Transformation of the West (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997), pp. 39-57

Karakacili, Eona. “English Agrarian Labor Productivity Rates before the Black Death: A Case Study.” The Journal of Economic History 64, no. 1 (2004): 24–60.

Primary Sources

Rosemary Horrox, ed. and trans., The Black Death (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1994).

“Difficulties in finding tenants,” pp. 326-331

“Rebellious Serfs at Wawne,” pp. 331-338

“A selection of cases from Lincolnshire,” pp. 319-320

Simon Sudbury, “Simon Sudbury increases priests’ wages,” pp. 311-312

“The Statute of Labourers,” pp. 312-316

[1] Guido Alfani, and Tommy E. Murphy. 2017. “Plague and Lethal Epidemics in the Pre-Industrial World.” The Journal of Economic History 77 (no. 1), 318.

Alfani and Murphy discuss the Black Death’s emergence in the Himalayas in the 1330s and its recognition by the Mongols in control there. From central Asia, it traveled west eventually reaching the shores of the Black Sea, the Hellespont, and then the Mediterranean. Because of the wide area affected by the disease, mortality rates ranged from place to place. The one-third rate discussed in the first paragraph of this essay refers to that of Europe at large and is estimated to be closer to two-thirds in some regions throughout the continent.

[2] Eona Karakacili. “English Agrarian Labor Productivity Rates before the Black Death: A Case Study.” The Journal of Economic History 64, no. 1 (2004), 25.

[3] “The Statute of Labourers” in The Black Death, ed. and trans. Rosemary Horrox (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1994), 312.

[4] Ibid., 313

[5] Ibid.

[6] Karakacili, 26.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Alfani and Murphy, 334.

[9] Ibid.

[10] “Rebellious Serfs at Wawne” in Horrox, The Black Death, 332

[11] “Difficulties in finding tenants” in Horrox, The Black Death, 327

[12] Samuel Cohn. “After the Black Death: Labour Legislation and Attitudes Towards Labour in Late-Medieval Western Europe.” The Economic History Review 60, no. 3 (2007), 457

[13] Herlihy, 40

[14] Simon Sudbury, “Simon Sudbury increases priests’ wages” in Horrox, The Black Death, 311

[15] Ibid., 312

[16] “The statute of labourers,” 312

[17] Ibid.

[18] “A selection of cases from Lincolnshire,” in Horrox, The Black Death, 320

[19] Ibid.

[20] Ibid.