Originally published on May 26, 2021 (Episode 207)
Introduction
In 1347 the population of England was something on the order of 5.5 million. After the first wave of the Black Death had crashed upon the island’s shores and then receded, that population had been reduced to 2.8 million. Immense tragedy lies behind that number, and immense consequences as well.
But the plague would return to England again in 1361, 1369, and 1375, with further human cost. And the climate made war against the English as well, with a cold period that led to crop loss and famine.
Investigating the consequences of the Black Death has been one of the major areas of research for historians of medieval England since nearly the creation of modern history. Now Professor Mark Bailey offers us a new interpretation of those consequences in his deeply researched study After the Black Death: Economy, Society, and the Law in Fourteenth-Century England.
About the Guest
Mark Bailey is Professor of Late Medieval History at the University of East Anglia.
💬 Listen & Discuss
What new perspective on the Black Death did you learn from this episode? How do recurrent crises reshape society differently from one-time disasters? Share your thoughts in the comments—and forward this post to a friend interested in the history of pandemics.
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