Environment, Society and the Black Death

by Desconhecido

  In Figure 10, a compilation is presented of all the dendrochronological dates from the Province of Småland performed by the National Laboratory for Wood Anatomy and Dendrochronology at Lund University (dates later than 1800 were not included). Småland covers most of the upland region that is covered by the pollen data. The diagram is based on 702 individual dates, representing 96 dating projects in 47 different parishes (Fig. 11). The dated objects were standing buildings (in particular churches) as well as posts, planks and other construction details revealed by archaeological excavations. They represent both churches (142 dates) and profane contexts (560 dates).

  The diagram (Fig. 10) shows a more-or-less gradual increase in the number of dates per 50 year slice from 1100 to 1350, which reflects medieval settlement expansion, and, in connection to that, the establishment of numerous churches.37 Around 1350 the number of dates decreases distinctly, and from 1350 to 1600 there are very few dates per 50 years. The low number of dates after 1350 indicates a distinct drop in building activity in connection with the late-medieval crisis. At 1600 the number of dates increases sharply. The sharp increase in the number of dates in the early seventeenth century is partly due to a bias in the dating activity. Whereas very few post-medieval rural settlements have been investigated, there have been intense archaeological investigations in the early-modern towns of Jönköping and Kalmar, which have well-preserved timber constructions from the sixteenth century onwards.

  Fig. 10. A compilation of all dendrochronological dates (felling years) from Småland performed by the National Laboratory for Wood Anatomy and Dendrochronology at Lund University. Bars show the number of dates per (a) 50-year and (b) 10-year time slices, respectively. Dates later than 1800 are not included. The year 1350 is indicated by a red line

  Also, in some earlier studies a decrease in building activity in connection with the late-medieval crisis has been inferred from dendrochronological data. In middle and northern Sweden a compilation of dates from standing log buildings showed a gap of about 100 years starting in the 1360s, interpreted as reflecting a pause in building activity.38 Similarly, a compilation of dendrochronological dates from Norway showed that the Black Death of 1349–50 more or less halted the building activity in Norway for 60 years.39 The data from Småland fits into this picture by indicating a marked decrease in building activity after the Black Death. Also a new compilation from the province of Östergötland shows a similar pattern (see Chap. 5).

  The temporal distribution of dendrochronological dates from Småland may be compared with the pollen record of the uplands presented above. A comparison of Figure 10 with Figure 8 reveals striking similarities. The gradual increase in the number of dendrochronological dates from 1100 to 1350 corresponds with a similar increase in the cereal-pollen percentages during the same time period. The two different types of data thus provide independent evidence of the medieval expansion in the uplands, reflecting construction activity and cereal growing, respectively. Both types of data also show a decrease around 1350, providing independent evidence of the severe effect of the late-medieval crisis in the uplands. It is fascinating how similar are the pictures obtained of the medieval development from these two completely different types of data.

  Fig. 11. Map of southern Sweden with parishes. Green indicates parishes in Småland from which we have dendrochronological dates

  In Figure 10a the dendrochronological dates are grouped in 50-year intervals for easy comparison with the cereal-pollen percentages. To get a higher resolution the same dendrochronological dates are grouped in 10-year intervals in Figure 10b. Although the diagram shows considerable variation from one decade to the other, it indicates that the most marked decrease in building activity followed directly upon the first struck of the plague in 1350. Even though a larger number of dates may change the picture in the future, at present dendrochronological data from Småland support the interpretation of a sudden decline in close connection to the Black Death.

  To sum up the discussion on timing, both cereal-pollen percentages and the compilation of dendrochronological dates show a clear drop from the period 1300–1350 to the period 1350–1400. They provide independent evidence of a distinct decrease in crop growing and building activity in the South-Swedish Uplands in the mid-fourteenth century. It is not possible from these two data sets to prove or disprove a smaller decline already in connection to the Great Famine of the early fourteenth century. And, likewise, it is difficult to judge the effect of later plague outbreaks, during the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. However, the high-resolution diagrams in Figures 9 and 10b strongly indicate that the major decline was close to the year 1350. The conclusion that can be made is that the first struck of the plague – the Black Death sensu stricto – had a significant and immediate effect on upland settlements.

  Plague victims or lucky emigrants?

  The data presented above suggest that the uplands of southern Sweden were hit hard by the late-medieval crisis. It may be concluded that there was a population decline and that population numbers remained low for more than a century. Furthermore, the decline seems to have been very sudden – as far as can be judged from our chronologies the decline happened in close connection to the year 1350. The timing and the suddenness point to the Black Death as the major factor behind the decline. If for instance climatic deterioration were the driving force a more gradual process would have been expected.

  Our conclusion is in line with some earlier studies that have suggested extensive farm abandonment particularly in upland areas. Janken Myrdal suggested that farm abandonment was extensive (more than two-thirds) in the South-Swedish Upland.40 Also The Scandinavian Research Project on Deserted Farms and Villages came to the conclusion that farm abandonment was most extensive in the uplands,41 and studies from England, Germany and other countries have come to similar conclusions.42

  Obviously, population numbers in the uplands dropped in the mid-fourteenth century and the strong temporal correlation with the year 1350 indicates that the Black Death was the major underlying cause. But were the upland people directly hit by the plague? Several authors explain the extensive abandonment in uplands not as a direct effect of the plague, but rather as an indirect effect through migration.43 According to this line of reasoning, the plague may have ravished the lowlands harder than the uplands, but farms on good soil were not abandoned for long. When lowland farmers on good holdings died there were always those who were eager to take over. This was the rare moment when landless and farmers of poor holdings got the opportunity to improve their living conditions and probably did not hesitate to do so. Also the large landowners had to adapt to the dwindling labour force by redirecting their tenants to the most productive farms.

  Pollen records from lowlands are unfortunately few, and therefore it is difficult to make comparisons between lowlands and uplands. In the data set used for this study there are only four records from southern Sweden that represent sites situated below 100 m above sea level. It is interesting to note, however, that the lowland records deviate from the picture revealed by the much more numerous upland sites. Of these four lowland sites, three show increasing cereal-pollen percentages around 1350 and in particular two of them – Torup and Häggenäs – show a strong increase. These two sites are also the two southernmost sites in the data set. Even though they may not be representative for the lowlands, they do indicate that parts of the lowlands of southern Sweden did not witness agricultural decline during the fourteenth century but rather expansion. If the migration hypothesis were correct a decline in crop growing in the uplands and no decline, or at least a smaller decline, in the lowlands would be expected. The pollen records of Torup and Häggenäs give some support to this hypothesis by indicating no decline in crop growing. However, the fact that they indicate an increase in crop growing is difficult to explain.

  Turning to the uplands again, it is likely that the decline in cereal growing to some extent was due to migration. But the possibility that upland people we
re also directly hit by the plague should not be ruled out. No farm was completely isolated. Also inhabitants of the most remote settlements belonged to social networks and gathered for instance in church and at market places. Even though question marks remain regarding the dissemination mechanisms, the fast spread of the Black Death through Europe – where only a minority lived in Urban areas – shows that it spread effectively also in the countryside. Even sparsely populated countries witnessed a dramatic population drop, like Norway in connection with the Black Death of 1349–50 and Iceland in connection to the plague outbreak of 1402–04.44 Certainly the plague knocked on the door also of farmsteads in the South-Swedish Uplands.

  Trade connections were important for the spread of the plague, and, as Dick Harrison has emphasised, settlements depending on imported grain may have been particularly vulnerable.45 This is because grain was usually accompanied by rats and their fleas. Possibly parts of the uplands depended on such trade. At least this was the case later, from the sixteenth century onwards, when grain was imported to the uplands in exchange for animal products.46

  The very suddenness of the decline, indicated by both cereal-pollen percentages and dendrochronological dates (Figs 9 and 10b), is interesting in this context. It may indicate that the upland settlements were hit directly by the plague, or, alternatively, that the process of migration started immediately after the plague, with no measurable delay. Regardless of which interpretation is correct (most likely it was a combination of both), it is noteworthy that the Black Death had an immediate impact on upland societies. If the Black Death of 1350 is regarded as the starting point for the late-medieval crisis in Sweden, it can be concluded that marginal uplands were immediately affected by the crisis. There is no indication of any delay from centre to periphery, and, thus, no indication that upland societies were more sustainable or resistant to change. When the Black Death hit southern Sweden it had an instant impact on the entire society, from towns and agricultural plains to remote woodlands.

  A turn to animal husbandry

  So far the discussion in this chapter has focused on crop growing and been based primarily on cereal pollen. An advantage with such an approach is that crop growing is closely connected to settlement and the results may be compared with previous studies on farm abandonment. Another advantage is that cereals do not grow in the wild and they disappear quickly when cultivation stops. Cereal pollen is therefore the best pollen indicator of crop growing and indirectly of settlement, and it shows an immediate response both to the beginning and end of cultivation.

  Although less straightforward, pollen records may also be used to study animal husbandry. This is because certain plants thrive in pastures and meadows.47 Humans do not intentionally grow these plants, and many of them are part of the natural flora. But because they are light demanding and well adapted to withstand grazing, they are competitive and dominating in pastures and also in hay meadows. Vegetation changes related to the introduction or cessation of grazing are more gradual than the ones related to crop growing, but they may still appear relatively sudden in a historical perspective. If grazing or mowing stops, a natural succession would lead to overgrowing by shrubs and trees, and shade-intolerant species like heather, grasses and other herbaceous plants would decrease and eventually disappear. Apart from temporary glades, most dry ground in southern Sweden would be forested if it were not for grazing and other agricultural land uses, which hold back the forest. In this respect grazing and mowing (and also crop growing) keeps the vegetation at an early phase of succession.

  Consequently, landscape openness as reflected in the pollen record may be used as a measure of agricultural impact on the landscape and in particular of the impact of animal husbandry. Land used for animal production – in particular pastures but also hay meadows – in most pre-industrial agricultural systems was much larger than the one used for crop growing.48 Landscape openness is therefore strongly related to the impact of grazing and mowing and ultimately to the number of grazing animals. In the uplands of southern Sweden domestic grazers would have been cows, oxen, sheep and goats and to a smaller extent horses.49

  To quantify landscape openness and how it changed through time we return to the Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm, which was used in a previous section to recalculate pollen percentages to land cover. Figure 12 shows the model output based on all the 21 upland sites. For cereals it is the same output as in Figure 8b, but here all the vegetation types estimated by the model are presented.

  Starting from the bottom of the diagram, the lowermost field shows the relative land cover of cereals, which was discussed above. The next field, named Mixed herbaceous, shows the land cover of all herbaceous plants excluding cereals, grasses and sedges. Most of the mixed herbaceous plants grew in pastures and meadows, while some may have grown for instance as weeds in arable fields.50 Next follow grasses and then sedges and heather. Grasses to a large degree reflect pastures and meadows, even though some species of grass may grow in woodland, at lakeshores (reed), in naturally open wetlands or in mowed wetlands. Sedges are largely restricted to wetlands, mowed as well as natural. Heather thrives in poor pastures (heathland), usually characterised by high grazing pressure and acidic soils, but may also grow in peat bogs. After heather in the diagram follow shrubs (juniper, hazel) and different types of trees. Juniper and hazel may have grown in half-open pastures and meadows. Also birch, which is a shade-intolerant tree, may have grown in wooded pastures. However, it is also an early-succession tree that quickly expands on abandoned land when land use ceases or grazing pressure decreases. After birch in the diagram (as well as in a natural succession) follow the more shade-tolerant trees.

  The diagram presents groups of plants separately that in the landscape were often mixed together. For instance, wet meadows may have contained a mix of sedges, grasses and several different herbaceous plants, whereas dry pastures had a mix of grasses, herbaceous plants and heather. Also, arable fields did certainly not contain only cereals, but also different weeds represented in the diagram by mixed herbaceous plants. In the same way most woodland before the introduction of modern forest plantations was a mix of several different tree species. Important to note is also that the transition between open land and woodland in the pre-industrial agricultural landscape was often diffuse and gradual. There was a range from open pastures, meadows and fields, via half-open pastures and meadows with scattered shrubs and trees, to wood pastures and dense woods. Landscape openness usually decreased by the distance to settlement.

  Fig. 12. Vegetation land-cover reconstruction based on pollen data from the 21 upland sites using the Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm, submodel REVEALS. The bold line between heather and juniper marks the boundary between open-land vegetation below that line and the vegetation of shrubs and trees above it. Mixed deciduous include Ulmus (elm), Tilia (lime tree) and Fraxinus (ash). Mixed herbaceous plants include Compositeae SF. Cichorioideae (dandelions, hawk’s-beards, etc.), Filipendula (dropwort, meadowsweet), Plantago lanceolata (ribwort plantain), Potentilla type (tormentil, cinquefoil), Ranunculus acris type (buttercups), Rubiaceae (bedstraw), and Rumex acetosa type (sorrel). Cereals include Secale cereale (rye) and Cerealia type (unspec. cereals). The year 1350 is indicated by a red line

  Even though the details of these vegetation patterns are not known nor how different plant groups were mixed together, the total land cover of open-land vegetation can be used as a measure of landscape openness. In the diagram the upper limit of heather (bold line) marks the relationship between all the open-land plants below that line and the shrubs and trees above it. It represents a summary of the land cover of all open-land vegetation and gives us a quantitative estimate of landscape openness and how it has changed through time.

  The model output based on the 21 upland sites shows that open-land vegetation in the uplands expanded gradually from the eleventh century, when it covered approximately 24% of the landscape, to the early fourteenth century, when it covered 38%. Some open-land veget
ation belonged to naturally open wetlands, but the strong expansion of the open landscape at the regional scale was certainly due to agricultural clearance, establishment of new settlements and increasing numbers of grazing animals.

  Similar to the expansion of cereal growing, the expansion of open-land vegetation came to a halt in the fourteenth century. The gradual deforestation that had been going on for centuries stopped and from the early to the late fourteenth century landscape openness decreased from 38% to 33%. Although a relatively small decrease, it is the most marked decrease of landscape openness recorded during the last 1000 years, except for the decrease during the twentieth century. After the reforestation in the fourteenth century, landscape openness remained at the same level, about 33%, for a century and a half. In the sixteenth century open land started to expand again and apart for some short-term stagnation periods it continued to expand all the way up to the nineteenth century, when landscape openness peaked at 57%. Finally, during the twentieth century, the extent of open landscape was dramatically reduced, and during the second half of that century landscape openness was only 25%. Hence, landscape openness today in the uplands is back at the same level as by the onset of the medieval expansion one millennium ago. However, it has a very different character because of woodland species composition and how the open land is managed.

  The landscape development of the last century is interesting because it gives us an opportunity to test the reliability of the landscape reconstruction. According to the reconstruction in Figure 12, the reduction of open land in the twentieth century was characterised most of all by a strong decrease in heather vegetation. Also the land cover of cereals, mixed herbaceous plants and sedges decreased at the same time. The parallel reforestation was characterised by a strong expansion of spruce, but also of pine and birch. These changes, suggested by the pollen-based reconstruction, fit nicely with the well-known landscape development based on various sources:51 Much agricultural land in the uplands was abandoned during the twentieth century and in the same process modern forestry was introduced with large-scale forest plantation. In particular heathland and other poor pastures were planted with spruce and, to some degree, with pine.52 Pastures left for natural succession were colonised by birch and later by coniferous trees. By the turn of the century 1900 open heathlands were still common and widespread, in particular in the western part of the uplands, but today they are all gone.