The Great Famines 1315-22 Flashcards
(22 cards)
What occured in Great Famines?
- crop failure
- cattle death (from rinderpest), loss of source of dairy
- 1315-22, 10-15% of Northern population died
Causes: Climate
When was Medeival Warming Period?
C. 950 to c. 1250
Cause: Climate
How did population grow?
- english people rose to 1.3 million in 11th century to 5 million by 1309
- france rose to 17 million from 6.2 million
- eastern population tripled
Causes: climate
How did mwp cause overpopulation?
More sun more food more babies.
Causes: climate
What is proof of MWP?
- scientists studying tree rings and age find for corrobaritng years a high amount isotope carbon 14
- gelologist studying ice cores confirm mwp of 9th and 13th century
Causes: climate
How did weather change?
Unusual amounts of rain
- price of salt went up 30 shillings to 90 shillings– salt is difficult to obtain when soggy weather
- bad weather had bad impact on bees and colony growth (william c. Jordan) products of beecraft up
- 1317 baltic sea froze over, harshedt winter yet
Causes: climate
What does William Rosen argue?
Famine not just product of isolated weather events but part of large scale climate change
Causes: feudalism and war
What is feudalism?
System where entire class owe service to men above maintained via oaths of fealty
Causes: feudalism and war
What does Chronicler Lodewijik van Velthem state?
1315-17
- following edward 1st death, king of scotland and ireland were cuasing trouble
Causes: feudalism and war
Examples of wars
- scotland vs england
- norway, sweden and denmark prone to periodic violence due to dynastic struggles
- germany 1314: Ludwig of Bavara and duke of austria beefed it out – army went hungry
- franco-flemish war: rain actually made it hard to battle
Causes: feudalism and war
Who says it was “war intensified famine”?
William C. Jordan
Causes: failure of trade
How did towns suffer?
1154-1250– 88 new towns in england
- popn didnt stop growing
- economy stopped
Causes: failure of trade
What does david arnold argue about pre modern economies?
- even minor proboems could accunulate and lead to famine
- e.g transportation costs
A rumour
Causes: failure of trade
What is peasent conservatism? Argument against it?
Ronald Seavoy says peasents lazy and didnt wanna work
- economy set up for laziness of peasents
- they couldnt prepare for famine
-against this, evidence for hard working peasents in study of cemetaries and fact that they had ailements e.g arthiritis
Causes: failure of trade
How muxh of the population was agrarian?
90%
Effects: society and culture?
How many sq miles did it affect?
400,000
- southern scandanavia missed brunt of it
Causes: failure of trade
Germany, what dud landowners profit from?
- windfall profits
Effect: economies
In france how did prices be effected?
- 1312 to 1318, crown reversed policy of overvaluing coinage
- william c. Jordan
- kingdom became poor
- prices dramatucally increased
Effect: economies
- examples of price volaitility
- bread prices slump so families eat more (but this is bad cuz famine)
- france 1315: bread prices go up–> chroncilers speak of dearness of grain –> first three years prices may have gone up 800%
- france, prices may have plumetted 70% simply on rumour of good harvests (william c. Jordan) to bad consequences
Effect: economies
England price increases?
- winchester estates study show price of grain increasing 1310-20
- wheat prices rose 1160 to 1347 in famine years
- studies done by Thorold Rogers
- David Farmer studies of Westminister cereals also shows price increases
Effect: economies
Implications of rise in salt prices?
- salt necessary fir salting meat for winter
- less meat for winter
- lack of salt increases cost of making butter and cheese
- salt was necessity (william c. Jordan)
Effect: economies
Effect on animals?
- animals dying from pestilence thus price increase
- pigs hunted; bolton manors saw near 95% decline in wild oigs –> parralells seen in fowl and rabbit slaughter
