What Were the Short and Long Term Impacts of the Black Death on the Medieval Society?

546 Words3 Pages
One of the most severe plagues hit the medieval society, the Black Death. It was highly infectious and killed millions of people while it was around. It was believed to have started in Asia and then it spread to England. It was sure to have been spread around by fleas on rats. During that period of time, many changes took place, some were short term while others were long term. Family life became hard for people as families started splitting up and started to live in villages or other towns. Many people moved to other towns or villages hoping that their family would be safe there and the plague wouldn’t spread there. But they were wrong. The plague followed them there but the living conditions were better as the houses were stronger, weatherproof and more comfortable. The Black Death took down the economy as half of the population died. The ordinary people became wealthier due to more land and equipment, whereas landlords started suffering losses. The ordinary people had got more freedom and money than ever before. They became wealthier than they were as there was a lot of land available and they bought it for cheap prices. The landowners started to lose money as many of their workers left their job and left the village. This was a short term impact as after sometime, as things were settling down many people realised that moving out wasn’t going to help. Many women had more opportunities to work. They probably worked more than the men. They had to take care of their children, cook food and work in the fields. Many women filled in for their husbands when the Black Death struck. Married and unmarried women were running their own businesses, trading and employing. Even though they had more opportunities their education did not change. The women did their best to keep the economy going but as more people got the plague it just kept on falling. This was a short term

More about What Were the Short and Long Term Impacts of the Black Death on the Medieval Society?

Open Document