How The Bubonic Plague Affected Medieval European Society

The bubonic plague and “the little ice age” drastically changed medieval European society . It also affected family life and the role women played in society. The plague was an outcome of Mongol occupations. They had an empire that extended from Russia to China. There were many trade roads in the Mongol Empire, and their rule kept Eurasian trade avenues in check. Society flourished due to the increased amount of trade, but rats with fleas reached Europe along the trade routes. These rats lead to the Black Death, one of the greatest epidemics in European history. Another catastrophe in fourteenth century Europe was “the little ice age”. The weather started changing in the end of the thirteenth century and little temperature decreases lead to rain and storms. It also cut the growing season, and from 1315 through 1317 , rain wrecked harvests and resulted in
With a decrease in population, aristocrats were looking for laborers. The prices dropped and the lord’s incomes fell. Peasants faced similar economic limitations as the aristocrats. The aristocrats tried to restrict wages and created new taxes. Peasants started to complain across Europe about these problems and revolts started occurring. These were known as the peasant revolts, which was the destruction of societal order after the Black Death. They were sparked by social class tension and the peasants were angered about how to upper class treated them. Clashes happened between the rich and the poor, which led to the destruction of castles and murder of nobles. The revolts eventually failed as the upper classes, ruthlessly killed the rebels and arrested them. After the revolts , poll taxes was cut , and a lot of the rebels were pardoned. They had gains for those who participated, they were also crushed quickly and the benefits got lost. The revolts signified an era of societal conflict that distinguished future European