Environment, Society and the Black Death

by Desconhecido

  The first formative phase includes the thirteenth century, when political power was moved towards the eastern part of Sweden. Parallel to this change, extensive urbanisation took place in this part of the country, especially in the Mälaren valley area. The latter phenomenon did not affect the western parts to any significant extent.

  The second phase started at the beginning of the seventeenth century, when Stockholm became the formal capital of the country and the administration of the realm together with all associated bureaucracy becoming concentrated in this town. The nobility also concentrated their interests in the eastern parts of Sweden, paving the way for a “de-feudalisation” of western Sweden and the emergence of a social class of freeholders in this region.

  The third of the phases started at the end of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century, when a class of freeholders was well-established in western Sweden. In the east the nobility strengthened its position through an intensification and rationalisation of the management of their estates. During this period, secularisation began in the east, whereas religious life in the west was characterised by the emergence of revivalist movements.

  The remaining regional differences in the era of modernity stand out as an important conclusion.17 Despite better communications between the regions and increased administrative and political centralisation, the differences became strengthened and deepened. Thus, an essential pattern becomes discernible, covering the time span from at least the thirteenth century to present times – a longue durée, to use the terminology of the French Annales school.

  This is not the place for discussing the origins of the regional differences in the early Middle Ages. However, there is reason to reflect on the impact of the late-medieval crisis on the actual, cultural pattern. Contributing to a strengthening of the latter, did the crisis also contribute to the formation of modern Sweden?

  When the peasants of western Sweden developed their strategies for survival in the era of the crisis, they acted within a context rather different from that of the eastern parts. Having never developed any closer dependence on nearby towns and their settlement never having been subject to any regulation, people were living in another cultural world than their counterparts in the east. A crucial element of this world was the single farmstead with its household, playing the role as the primary actor in the landscape. By all accounts the village played the corresponding role in the eastern parts.18 No doubt this fact has been of very great importance for the development of an individual independence among the peasants of western Sweden, concerning not only of their acting in the landscape but also of their relation to kingdom and nobility.19

  As clearest evidence, this was expressed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when a group of freeholders became the dominant social stratum. A strong individual mentality, emanating from the single farmstead, supported this stratum. This mentality included a specific spirit of the small business owner, providing the basis for peasant trade as well as rural crafts, independent of the towns of the region. The later activity was developed to an extensive cottage industry, especially weaving, becoming characteristic of several parts of western Sweden in modern times. The first signs of such activities may already be discernible in the late Middle Ages.

  In conclusion, there are reasons to understand the time of the late-medieval crisis as a highly formative phase towards modern society. This chapter has emphasised important elements of emancipation in the development of the crisis. However, it has been about an emancipation following different cultural pathways.

  Through archaeology it has been possible to grasp different aspects of human actions in the later part of the fourteenth and in the fifteenth centuries. An utterly severe societal situation did not – despite the unimaginable loss of human lives – result only in feudal suppression but also in innovations. Taking new initiatives in their everyday lives, peasants and townsmen could form a basis for a new society. However, their acting must be considered in the light of varying cultural contexts, directing the development in different ways.

  Thus, the picture of the late-medieval crisis will be a complex one, Sweden in this respect reminding us much of England. Probably the two countries reflect a common, West European development. The situation in Eastern Europe was partly another one. For example in Russia, there was no emancipation of the peasants, rather an increasingly fierce serfdom in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.20

  This book has focused on the late-medieval crisis largely from the “small” perspective, i.e. the perspective of the single household and the single farmstead. At the same time it has discussed the late-medieval farmstead in a wider historical context, hopefully elucidating the links between past and present, between Middle Ages and modern times.

  Notes

  1 Myrdal 2012a, 234ff

  2 Svensson et al. 2013

  3 Dyer 2002, 235, 272; Palm 2001, 24f

  4 Dyer 2002, 272

  5 Dyer 2002, 265

  6 Taylor 2010

  7 Jones 2010, 8f; Lewis 2007, 134

  8 Dyer 2010, 29

  9 Dyer 2010, 44

  10 Dyer 2010, 44

  11 Myrdal 2012a, 234f

  12 Cf. Ericsson 2012, 40

  13 De Vries 2008, 71f; cf. Larsson 2009, 390f

  14 Strömberg 2008

  15 Winberg 2000

  16 Winberg 2000, 118f

  17 Winberg 2000, 120

  18 Winberg 2000, 113

  19 Winberg 2000, 84

  20 Martin 2012, 293f

  9.

  Epidemics in a social context

  Caroline Arcini

  We live in the twenty-first century more than 600 years after the Black Death and epidemics are still a major concern. In spite of tremendous medical advances, like vaccine and antibiotics, epidemics pose a threat to individuals and society. Awareness is high and preventive measures and cures are developed to meet new epidemics and to keep pace with the fast evolution of new germs and diseases. This is always a challenge because new outbreaks never completely behave like their predecessors, partly due to the changing character of the infections themselves, but also due to changes in society, culture and human behaviour. These changes make it difficult to predict the impact of future epidemics and pandemics, and also, of course, to learn from the past. Still, historical studies reveal some general patterns and similarities, not the least in how people have responded to the threats of epidemics and how they have handled their fears and their losses, which provide valuable perspectives to recent epidemics and may contribute to better preparedness for new ones.

  During the 1900s the world witnessed three pandemics, all caused by influenza viruses – the Spanish flu of 1918–20, the Asian flu of 1957 and the Hong Kong flu of 1967–68. The latter two killed 4 and 1 million, respectively, whereas the Spanish flu killed, incredibly, 50–100 million people globally (37,000 of them in Sweden; Fig. 59). No wonder the fear of epidemics is deeply rooted and rumours spread swiftly when new ones are approaching. Recent examples from Europe are SARS, avian flu and swine flu. How we as individuals respond depend on many factors, like the flow of information from authorities and predictions by medical experts through media.

  As this book is being written there is an on-going epidemic in Africa, which to its cultural character has similarities with the plague. It is an outbreak of Ebola, a virus that causes a haemorrhagic fever. Since the first outbreak in 1976 there have been as many as 19 recurring outbreaks, the last ones with only 2 years apart. The on-going epidemic (2014) is regarded as the most serious ever and WHO classifies it as an international public health emergency. For the first time, people outside Africa have also been contaminated. Those infected were people nursing aid workers that were brought home for medical care.

  Even though Ebola and plague are different in several respects there are similarities between them, not the least in how cultural customs and practices around the sick and the handling of the dead play an important role in the trans
mission and spread of the disease. In West Africa the custom of touching the body of the diseased at funerals may contribute to the spread of the virus. Similarly, in the fourteenth century, the washing and wrapping of the dead, together with other customs, like the last rites and of course the gathering at funerals, probably contributed to the Black Death’s fast conquest of Europe. In Sweden it was not until the last plague epidemic of 1710 that some of these customs were banned and special burial places for plague victims were established far from the churchyards. We know from written sources that these new regulations from the authorities were not well received by the people.

  Fig. 59. Funeral for 51 victims of the Spanish flu, Arjeplog cemetery in northern Sweden, Easter Eve, 4 April 1920 (photo: Sandberg. From the photo archive at the Silver Museum in Arjeplog)

  What also connects past and present epidemics, from the Black Death to Ebola, is of course the shock and tragedy for families and individuals. From parts of Europe chroniclers from the time give us a vivid picture of the horror of the Black Death, and there is no reason to doubt their testimony. To experience the death of near and loved ones was not unusual during the Middle Ages, and in particular infant mortality was very high, but the ravage of the plague and other major epidemics was something else.

  In the Nordic countries written records from the Black Death are scarce, but church books from later plague epidemics give us insight into how individual families suffered when hit by the plague. For example, when the plague came to Sorby Magle Kirkerup parish on the island of Zealand in Denmark in January 1656, the effects for some families were disastrous. One couple hit hard was Franz Jensøn and Charen Hansdatter. Many years before Franz had lost his first wife and their two sons and surely he must have felt that he had already received his share of God’s trials. Three weeks after his first wife died he had married Charen, and in the succeeding years they had five sons and 11 daughters. Then in 1656 came the plague. In 13 May one of their sons died and within less than 2 months the plague had taken all of their five sons and two of their daughters. The worst day must have been 24 May. They were about to bury one son and one daughter when suddenly their youngest son also died. They put him in the same coffin with his brother. How did Franz Jensøn and his wife recover from such a disaster? How did they manage to carry on? Of course they had no choice. There were still children to care for, and when Franz and Charen died, at 73 and 71 years old, three of their offspring were alive and well.

  Even though the first strike of the Black Death in the fourteenth century may have been the most devastating, plague outbreaks haunted the European population for centuries. When the family of Franz and Charen were hit, plague had been more or less around for 300 years. It occurred periodically and always deceived behind the door. Some outbreaks lasted for only one or a few months, but sometimes the plague stayed and became a normal part of life. In London, for example, there were only 3 years without plague in the period 1604–66. This naturally held down population numbers and affected most parts of everyday life. Still, people did not surrender to the plague, which is reflected in the fact that many marriages were arranged even during the worst of outbreaks. In Sweden, church books from the plague years of 1710–13 show that betrothals and marriages began to increase well before the epidemic died out. Sometimes this hurry resulted in very short marriages when the new couples moved into contaminated houses.

  In spite of the tragedies of individuals and families, several historians have concluded that the Black Death and the crisis, and in particular the drop in population numbers, resulted in improved living conditions for the survivors.1 In addition, the crisis enabled social change, which in turn laid the foundation for the strong expansion that followed during the sixteenth century. Hence, the plague and similar historical disasters may have paved the way for progress and better living standards.2 However awful it may sound, there seems to have been some truth in the old saying, ‘one man’s loss is another man’s gain.’ However, that this may not always be the case with pandemics is evident from the aftermath of the Spanish flu. Similar to the Black Death it caused the death of millions in a few years, but the societal reaction appears to have been very different. For instance, it did not lead to increased investments, higher wages or any migration of labour from less affected areas to the more severely affected.3 On the contrary, unemployment increased, living standards deteriorated and the proportion of poor in the population increased.4 Obviously we may expect different societal reactions to pandemics in different historical contexts. Also within the same pandemic there was variation, for instance between different areas and different social classes.

  In Chapter 6 skeleton remains were used to study possible changes in living conditions in connection with the Black Death. Progress with this approach has been made in recent years, most noticeably by Sharon Dewitte, who studied conditions in a sub-population of medieval London. She showed that living conditions improved for the survivors and for succeeding generations, in the sense that they, on average, achieved an older age than before the plague.5 In the study presented here, height was used as an indicator of living conditions. Height is frequently also used to study secular changes in modern society and therefore enables comparisons in a wider time perspective.6

  The increase in stature noted after the Black Death was only temporary, and from the sixteenth century onwards stature gradually declined to reach a nadir in the mid-nineteenth century. Men in Sweden became several centimetres shorter than during the Middle Ages and actually as short as 6000 years ago.7 After 1850, stature increased again. In the late nineteenth century it reached medieval levels and then continued to increase strongly throughout the twentieth century. The fastest increase in height in a short time is the one documented for post-war Japan, but also in Sweden and much of Europe body length increased dramatically during the same period. The modern increase in stature was due to improved living conditions and a change in diet, in Sweden particularly an increased consumption of milk. In order to compete with grain prices from America many Swedish farmers turned to animal husbandry and, with improved transport, fresh milk also reached the population in cities. Milk production and distribution was favoured by Pasteur’s discovery and by the separator, which made dairy products easily accessible and cheap. Authorities saw increased milk consumption as an effective and inexpensive way to improve living condition and in the 1930s free milk was introduced in schools.8 Hence, the connection between stature on the one side and living conditions and diet on the other is evident from modern times. Also the slight increase in height during the Late Middle Ages was certainly due to improved living conditions, but our study of stable isotopes showed no clear association to a change in diet. Note, however, that there may have been important dietary changes not reflected in the isotope values.

  Human health has improved greatly in Europe and many other parts of the world during the last century. Many have experienced better living conditions due to access to more nutritious food, vaccines against various childhood diseases and flu, antibiotics against bacterial infectious diseases, better housing and sanitation, education and vacations. Although the risk of epidemics in Europe and the developed countries is still present, nowadays it is mainly in developing countries that epidemics pose a serious problem and occasionally lead to high mortality. This is true also for the plague. Isolated cases of plague also still occur each year in developed countries, in particular in the USA where it was first introduced in 1900 from Asia and where it is resident among wild rodents. But it is only in the developing countries, mainly in Africa but also in Asia and South America, that plague still leads to serious outbreaks. Most of them hit villages and small towns in poor, rural areas. Madagascar is one country that has been hit by recurring outbreaks of plague – bubonic as well as pneumonic – during the last few years. At present an on-going outbreak in the fall of 2014 has caused 40 deaths so far. If diagnosed early, bubonic plague can be successfully treated with antibiotics, and there is little danger of a new p
andemic of plague. It is relatively easily stopped by access to antibiotics and insect control in infected areas, but locally, in poor countries, plague is still a feared and deadly disease.

  Notes

  1 Dyers 2002, 296; Benedictow 2004, 390; Myrdal 2012a, 229

  2 Myrdal 2012a, 204

  3 Karlsson et al. 2014

  4 Karlsson et al. 2014

  5 DeWitte 2014

  6 Werner 2008

  7 Bennike 1985

  8 Martiin 2010, 226

  10.

  Summary of conclusions

  Per Lagerås

  The Black Death and the late-medieval crisis have been thoroughly studied and debated for half a century but still appear mysterious and elusive. Research has provided detailed insights and interpretations on several important aspects whereas others remain largely unexplored. Many question marks remain regarding sequences of events and causalities during the crisis and not the least regarding its consequences, both in a short-term and long-term perspective. Naturally, much of the causality will remain hidden to us, partly because of the fragmentary character of historical sources but most of all because of the complexity of the matter.

  In this book we have taken a deeper look at some non-written sources and used analytical methods and perspectives from archaeology and the natural sciences. Our aim has been to provide new angles to some of the classical research questions formulated by historians and also to present new research perspectives. Similar to written records, the non-written records vary considerably in character, quantity and quality between different countries, regions and areas. This is true also for southern Sweden. For instance, most pollen records are from marginal uplands where peatlands are numerous and well-preserved, whereas most archaeological and osteological records are from densely populated lowlands where the preservation of skeletons is good and archaeological research activity has been high. Hence, different regions and different source materials and methods contribute in different ways. The results and interpretations presented in this book reflect this diversity and point to several interesting aspects of the crisis. Our primary conclusions can be summarised as follows: