The Great Famines 1315-22

Question 1

What occured in Great Famines?

Answer 1

• crop failure
• cattle death (from rinderpest), loss of source of dairy
• 1315-22, 10-15% of Northern population died

Question 2

Causes: Climate

When was Medeival Warming Period?

Answer 2

C. 950 to c. 1250

Question 3

Cause: Climate

How did population grow?

Answer 3

• 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

Question 4

Causes: climate

How did mwp cause overpopulation?

Answer 4

More sun more food more babies.

Question 5

Causes: climate

What is proof of MWP?

Answer 5

• 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

Question 6

Causes: climate

How did weather change?

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Causes: climate

What does William Rosen argue?

Answer 7

Famine not just product of isolated weather events but part of large scale climate change

Question 8

Causes: feudalism and war

What is feudalism?

Answer 8

System where entire class owe service to men above maintained via oaths of fealty

Question 9

Causes: feudalism and war

What does Chronicler Lodewijik van Velthem state?

Answer 9

1315-17

- following edward 1st death, king of scotland and ireland were cuasing trouble

Question 10

Causes: feudalism and war

Examples of wars

Answer 10

• 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

Question 11

Causes: feudalism and war

Who says it was “war intensified famine”?

Answer 11

William C. Jordan

Question 12

Causes: failure of trade

How did towns suffer?

Answer 12

1154-1250– 88 new towns in england

• popn didnt stop growing
• economy stopped

Question 13

Causes: failure of trade

What does david arnold argue about pre modern economies?

Answer 13

• even minor proboems could accunulate and lead to famine
• e.g transportation costs
  A rumour

Question 14

Causes: failure of trade

What is peasent conservatism? Argument against it?

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Causes: failure of trade

How muxh of the population was agrarian?

Answer 15

90%

Question 16

Effects: society and culture?

How many sq miles did it affect?

Answer 16

400,000

- southern scandanavia missed brunt of it

Question 17

Causes: failure of trade

Germany, what dud landowners profit from?

Answer 17

• windfall profits

Question 18

Effect: economies

In france how did prices be effected?

Answer 18

• 1312 to 1318, crown reversed policy of overvaluing coinage
• william c. Jordan
• kingdom became poor
• prices dramatucally increased

Question 19

Effect: economies

- examples of price volaitility

Answer 19

• 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

Question 20

Effect: economies

England price increases?

Answer 20

• 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

Question 21

Effect: economies

Implications of rise in salt prices?

Answer 21

• 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)

Question 22

Effect: economies

Effect on animals?

Answer 22

• 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