Kimberly Headley                                                                                                  March 11th, 2000

Birth of Modern Europe

Meyers-E Band

The Black Death

the disease that forever changed London’s social climate

            The black death was one of the most deadly killers in the medieval, and early modern world.  The largest outbreak of the plague occurred in 1346 and lasted until 1350, and it over 1/3 of Europe’s population or 25 million people. London would see two of the larger outbreaks of plague before the it died out in Europe in 1665. In 1592 the plague killed 15,000 people in London. And the “Great plague” of 1665 killed over 68,000 people out of a population of 93,000.^[1]  The plague had a huge effect on the social history of London, it forever changed Londoner’s attitude towards religion, class relations, and the rights of the individual.

            As the “black death” spread (1346-50) throughout London masses of people began to abandon religious institutions, many felt that the plague was a punishment from a wrathful God, who was displeased with the widespread sin of man. Many fled that the corruption of religious institutions, especially the Catholic church, which at the time was plagued with corruption even at it’s highest levels. Large numbers of London’s citizens began to turn to mysictisim and healing, in an attempt to find a “truer” form of God. The Flagellant Brahren are a perfect example of the types of “truer” faith that people turned to during the time of the plague. Traveling in group of 50- 500 highly organized men, wearing white hooded robes adorned on front and back with red crosses. They traveled from town to town preaching about the ills of the church, and the sins of the Jews,

who they believed also had a part in causing the plague. In each town they stopped in they would preform rituals, that included singing, praying for the salvation of man, as well as beating themselves with scourges studded with iron spikes in order to purge themselves of “sin”. These displays were preformed twice daily and would draw crowds wherever they went. The people of London stopped going to church and started following in the beliefs, of even joining such groups as the Flagellant Brahren. A citizen of London in 1349 recalls the exhibitions of the Flagellant Brahern “Such exhibitions are highly influential. The establishment may focus their attacks on church corruption and their promotion of a wave of savage anti-Semitism. but the masses worship the flagellants as living martyrs. Their deeds are to be admired and their commands to be carried out.”^[2] Passages like this one illustrate the lack of control the church retained over the people during this time of widespread disease. These feelings of dissent were even greater within large cities such as London where disease had spread faster, killing more, and creating greater sentiments of despair and hopelessness among the populous. While the plague saw the beginning of an era in which the church no longer total control over the lives of much of London’s population, it also saw the end of the traditional feudal system.

            As the plague ravaged London’s population, as well as that of its surrounding area, labor became scare, and for the first time the serfs were put in a position to demand different labor conditions, and higher wages. With all societal norms having been abandoned during the plague, as well as most of the nobility having fled London at the start of the outbreak, the serfs were pretty much on their own. Workers to bring in crops were in very high demand, and many of them took a great deal of advantage of the fact that for the first time they were not expendable, but rare and in high demand. The sentiments of the workers are summed up very well by an eyewitness to the plague who wrote “the king sent proclamation that reapers and other laborers should not take more

than they had been accustomed to take (in pay). But the laborers were so lifted up and obstinate that they would not listen to the king's command, but if anyone wished to have them he had to give

them what they wanted, and either lose his fruit and crops, or satisfy the wishes of the workmen.”^[3]  Members of the working class experienced not only a new sense of freedom during this time, but also some prosperity. As a result of this new found prosperity among the working class, then general standard of living for the poor was raised. These ex-serfs were no longer an underclass, they had moved into the slots of a newly created working class. And because of this creation of a new class that the plague bought into existence, all of the social rules that defined the aristocracy were challenged.

            The outbreak of plague forever changed class relations and definitions in London, because for the first time there was another class besides the aristocracy that was making a significant wage for their work. As the ex-serfs became a viable working class,  the began to challenge the social norms of what were the upper and lower classes. The Lords and other Nobles of the time defined their class by their title, and there land holdings, to which the serfs had been tied to for life. For the first time serfs were leaving the land they had been tied to for generations, Lords had to offer competitive wages, and were for the first time meeting demands of workers that they had commanded for as long as anyone could remember. The financial distinctions between the lower and upper classes were being blurred by a new working middle class that had emerged during and in the period right after the plague years. The aristocracy, though the still retained their titles, and some land holdings were not as distinct a class as they once were. Many aristocrats were unhappy with these sudden changes, and began to invent new ways to make class difference very clear. Fashion became the new “marker” of class, the nobility began to wear extremely extravagant and expensive clothing in order to distinguish themselves from the “peasants.”

In addition to the change in dress, the nobility also tried to enact certain laws that would once again restore the feudal system. The peasantry was unwilling to return to a system of virtual slavery, and there were a number in revolts in the English, and French Countrysides during the period after the plague. The plague forever changed the climate of social relations in London, and actually helped fortify, as well as blur class distinctions.

            The “black death”, and the “Great Plague of London” forever changed many aspects Londoners lives, especially their mind sets about class, religion, and the rights and importance of the “average” individual. The plague had bought the population of London to its most primitive level, all social norms had been disregarded along with most, if not all traditions had been ignored. With society having been brought down to such a level it was inevitable that it would be rebuilt with certain major changes. During the time after the plague the lower classes took advantage of the  opportunity to “raise” themselves up in society. They recognized that for the first time they were in demand, and because of that they could demand what they wanted in return for their labor. At the same time the nobility were trying to rebuild the life that they had led prior to the outbreak of the plague, they tried enacting laws as well as refusing certain wage hikes, all in a futile attempt to restore the feudal system. The widespread social conflicts that were caused by the plague would come to a head a number of times in London’s history after this period. The plague forever changed the not only Londoners, but the world's view of religion, class politics, and the importance of the individual.