Impacts of The Black Death on Medieval England

The Black Death, a deadly plague believed to be a bacterial infection, wreaked havoc in Fourteenth Century Europe, including Medieval England. Carried by wild black rats and the fleas that infested them, the disease, likely pneumonic plague rather than bubonic plague, is estimated to have arrived from Asia in late 1348. The impact of the Black Death on English society during the years 1348 to 1350 was nothing short of catastrophic, exacerbated by the lack of medical knowledge and resources available at the time. A Grim Toll: Ravaging London and Lasting Effects By the spring of 1349, the Black Death had claimed the lives of six out of every ten Londoners, leaving behind a trail of devastation. One particularly distressing aspect for the medieval Christian mindset was that victims often died without receiving the last rites or having the opportunity to confess their sins. In the face of such desperation, people resorted to all manner of desperate measures. Among the more extreme examples …