What was the impact of the Black Death and the Peasant
Revolt of 1381 on London?
Trade
was increasing, ports were flourishing while London grew until August 1348. The
Black Death struck the city with no cure, no hope and no escape. The overwhelming
death toll left the city without workers from many trades. London had to
rebuild its population and make changes in order for it to flourish once again.
The Black Death left the city in such disarray, that hardly forty years later,
the peasants revolted, demanding reform. The Black Death and Peasant Revolt of
1381 impacted London economically, politically, socially, religiously and
culturally. Because these were such big events in London’s history, their
impact was immense. The outcome of these events triggered the rise of the
Gentry, different construction of churches, the rise of piety in people, the
halt of wars, protestant ideas and poverty stricken peasants.
Being
described as the “most devastating pandemic in human history”, the Black Death
wounded Europe worse than any wars or conflicts before its time. Anywhere from
one third to one half of the population was decimated by the virus. There are
three versions of the plague: Bubonic, Pneumonic and Septicemia. The Bubonic Plague
is the most common form which produces painful fist sized swellings at the site
of the flea bites killing the victim in anywhere from 2 to 6 days. The fleas
that carry the virus latched themselves onto rats, which carried them around
the world trade system. The Pneumonic Plague occurs when the infection enters
the lungs, causing the victim to vomit blood. Because it is spread through the
air via coughing, sneezing and even breathing, this version of the plague is
most contagious. The Septicemic Plague is rarer but enters the victim’s
bloodstream and kills within a day. In autumn of 1348, the plague reached
London, the perfect set up to spread a contagious, deadly virus. Rich and poor
were crowded together while entire families slept in one room. Dozens of people
would sleep on straw while animals and rats burrowed in with them secretly
carrying the fleas that bore the virus. The Black Death claimed about 40,000
Londoners, leaving the city in a mournful state of chaos.
About
forty years after the Black Death, Wat Tyler arranged an army of peasants who
wanted reform from the King. Tyler organized for the army to march upon London
and capture the Tower. For the first, and only time in history, the Tower of
London was captured. The angered peasants killed the Royal Treasurer and the
High Chancellor, and held strong until King Richard II agreed to meet with
them. The Peasants Revolt of 1381 was the first prevalent uprising in England.
The peasants wanted payment in money and lowered taxes. King Richard II agreed
to their terms and wrote a Charter for them peasants with a list of the new
laws. A few days later, he revoked the Charter and gave the order to the Royal
Army to kill every peasant that owned a copy of the Charter. Richard decided
that was a good way to prove his power and authority over the people and show
that England will not tolerate rebellions. After the charter was revoked, the
peasants carried on with their poor conditions as usual, minus 1500 that had
been killed from the rebellion. The Peasants Revolt was a failure that merely
sparked attention to the social changes that followed the Black Death.
The
Black Death lead into the Peasants Revolt of 1381 and they both had effects on
London that lasted for many years. After the Black Death, London’s economics
were stricken. The Black Death left London short of labor, making the people
who did work, work harder for the same amount of money as when they did not
have to work as hard. Landowners did not want to raise wages because they
couldn’t afford to, leaving the peasants unpleased with their incomes. The King
passed the Ordinance of Laborers which fixed wages at ‘pre-plague level’ and
the Statute of Laborers which were labor laws. “It was lately ordained by our
lord king, with the assent of the prelates, nobles and others of his council
against the malice of employees, who were idle and were not willing to take
employment after the pestilence unless for outrageous wages…” (Statute of
Laborers, 1351). Not long after these laws were passed, they were revoked,
leaving the peasants back where they started. After years of poverty and
overworking, the peasants had had enough, causing the revolt of 1381. The
economics of London was impacted from the Black Death and Peasants Revolt in
the aspect that there was not enough people to do the work, or buy the
products, leaving the landowners or shop keepers without income.
Social
aspects of London were also affected from the Black Death and the Peasants
Revolt. After the Black Death the public resented the King and their local
Lords, which was another cause of the Peasants Revolt of 1381. After the
Peasants Revolt of 1381, the lasting social effect was the rise of the Gentry.
Because of the rise of wages and lowered cost of grain, the Gentry were left to
find new interests and ways to earn. Offices such as the Justice of the Peace,
Sheriff, and Members of Parliament were taken by the old landowners and aristocrats.
This shift in social movement created a new class between the rich and the
poor. This is the first appearance of the Middle Class in London society.
The
everlasting wars in France came to a halt during and after the Black Death.
Since the population was a fraction of what it had been, the government did not
launch any campaigns in France until 1355. Political policies after the
Peasants Revolt of 1381 did not alter. Although King Richard II made the
Charter for the peasants, he revoked it, and killed anyone that had a copy.
Politics resumed as usual in London and did not see much change for some time.
The only impact that the Black Death had upon politics in London was the halt
of the war campaigns in France.
The
Catholic Church was highly questioned during and after the Black Death. The church
blamed the sinfulness of men for the Black Death, but once an astounding amount
of clergy started dying, the people questioned the purity of the Church and its
officials. Instead of coming close to God through the Clergy, people started
coming close to God individually, which is one of the building blocks of Protestantism.
The idea of challenging the absolute authority of the church hierarchy was
starting to be whispered which leads us to believe that the Black Death helped
pave the way for the Protestant Reformation. After the Black Death there was
also a greater amount of piety amongst the upper classes. The founding of
colleges and churches increased drastically after the Black Death. Many of the
Churches in London were added on to during this time, more manuscripts
published and universities founded. Religion was not as affected by the
Peasants Revolt as the Black Death. Because this was the start of questioning
the Catholic Church, the Black Death had a very lasting impact on London.
Culture
in London was greatly affected from the Black Death and the Peasants Revolt.
The use of vernacular languages started to be more common. Due to the lack of
educated clerks, in 1362, Parliament passed a statute decreeing that all pleas
should be heard in English. The use of vernacular language lead in to the
blossoming of English literature. Geoffery Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales were
written during the 1380s. William Langland produced the first version of his
great poem: The Vision of Piers Plowman in 1362. More cultural effects from
these events are the way churches were built. Because of the labor shortages,
they postponed building churches, or instead of building elaborate decorated
style churches, they became more perpendicular and plain. This leads into one
of the main distinguishes between Roman Catholic Churches and Protestant
English Churches.
The
Black Death and Peasants Revolt of 1381 greatly affected the future of London.
Many changes were brought forth in London in the years following these events.
Economics, politics, social structure, religion and popular culture were all
affected. The workers were not plentiful, the gentry rose, religion started
veering away from Catholicism, and the use of vernacular language spread
rapidly. So much of the population had died from the Black Death that there was
not nearly enough people to farm or work in the cities, causing discomfort for
the ones who did work. The changes the peasants hoped to acquire from their
rebellion had not fully taken effect until many years after their efforts. The
lords that owned land outside of London lost their workers and usefulness so
they sought employment elsewhere. They moved into London and took new positions
in the government, which created a middle class for the first time in London’s
history. The people started to question the true purity of the Catholic Church
leading into one of the greatest changes in England’s history: The Anglican
Reformation. After so many educated clerks had died, London switched over to
using vernacular language instead of Latin and French. English became more
popular and authors began their tales that would be read centuries later. The
Black Death and Peasants Revolt of 1381 were terrible events in history but they
lead to greater things. Without them England might still be a French speaking,
peasant filled Catholic nation with no parliament.
Work Cited:
Ibeji, Mike, Dr. "Black Death: Political and
Social Changes." BBC News.
BBC, 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.
"The Black Death in England 1348-1350." The Black Death in England 1348-50.
Ed. David Ross. Britain Express, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
Ibeki, Mike, Dr. "Black Death." BBC News. BBC, 10 Oct. 2011.
Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
Kelly,
John. The Great Mortality: An Intimate
History of the Black Death. London: Harper Perennial, 2006. Print.
Gottfried, Robert Steven. The Black Death: Natural and Human
Disaster in Medieval Europe. New York: Free, 1983. Print.
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