In Europe between 1348 and 49 about one third of the population died from the Plague. There were all kinds of stories of why it was happening although the true story was disease from black rats which jumped into humans. It is now thought there were over diseases due to logistical reasons of rats tended to be in urban port areas, while people died all in both rural and urban areas. Losing a third of the population changes the countries and in a book called In the Wake of The Plague by Norman Cantor published by Simon & Schuster, New York, 2001, the author outlines some of the changes.

In England and other countries, a third of the arable land in 1346 was owned by church officials – bishops, abbots, ecclesiastical corporations, the chapters of cathedral priests or monastic communities. Much of the land came with by gift, however the priests were to perpetually pray for the designated family members. The Bishops for thousands of years was trained in church doctrine as well as managing income and ideally increasing it. When an abbot died, the monks gathered and picked an experience administrator in property management, accounting and law. The name was submitted to the King who generally approved the person because he was a person the Crown could do business with – a person of conservative temperament and a realistic attitude. The tenure of abbot was life. In modern day life, the abbot was similar to a University President with all the concerns going on.
The main consequence of the Black Death was not the advancement of workers’ movement but along the road to class polarization in an early capitalist economy. The gap between the rich and poor in each village widened. The wealthier peasants took advantage of the social dislocations caused by the plaque and the poor peasants sank further into dependency and misery. The church culture moved from a mature Jesus to Mother Mary and infant as well as a younger man on the Cross.

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There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.