The Great Bovine Pestilence and its economic and environmental consequences in England and Wales, 1318–50¹

Abstract

The present article seeks to identify the nature, extent, and impact of the Great Bovine Pestilence in England and Wales, between 1318 and 1350. The murrain, which killed around 62 per cent of the bovine animals in England and Wales in 1319-20, had a tremendous impact within both the seigniorial and peasant sectors of late medieval agriculture. In particular, the pestilence, which decreased the overall population of dairy cattle, depressed the overall levels of milk supply available for human consumption. Is it possible that the bovine crisis of 1319-20, and the subsequent protein shortage, were instrumental in weakening the immune system of humans and making them prone to the pestilence some 30 years later?

Jewish Persecutions and Weather Shocks: 1100–1800

“…To understand why expulsions occurred, therefore, we need to consider cases where the sovereign cannot credibly commit to protect a vulnerable minority. 12 10 It was followed by the so-called Great Bovine Pestilence, which wiped out 60% of livestock on the continent (Slavin, 2012). 11 Tension had been building for sometime as a result of the poor harvests and the peasants undertook religious demonstrations and parades aimed at ending the famine (Barber, 1981b, pp.…”

“… It was followed by the so‐called Great Bovine Pestilence, which wiped out 60% of livestock on the continent (Slavin, ). …”

Late Holocene landscape instability in the Breckland (England) drift sands

“…Landscape stabilisation around 1300-1600 AD in Breckland coincided with the population reduction after 1348 AD caused by Black Death, harvest failures and sheep pestilence (Spufford, 1965;Slavin, 2012) which led to significant agricultural and societal changes. Peasant sheep ownership dwindled and the late Medieval crisis led to more moderate animal stocks which reduced the pressure on the landscape (Spufford, 1965;Bailey, 1989;Slavin, 2012;Campbell, 2016). Such major reorganisation periods have been pinpointed for other NW European drift sand events.…”

Calculus and survivorship in medieval London: The association between dental disease and a demographic measure of general health

“…During Period 16 ( c . 1250–1400), there were several major demographic and subsistence crises in England, including the Great Famine of 1315–1317, during which an estimated 10–15% of the population of England and Wales died from starvation or disease (Campbell, ; DeWitte & Slavin, ); the Great Bovine Pestilence in 1319–1320, which killed 62% of bovine populations and led to dairy resource scarcities that lasted until the early 1330s (DeWitte & Slavin, ; Jordan, ; Slavin, ); and the Black Death in 1348–1350, which killed 30–60% of the population. The current study uses individuals from St. Mary Spital for whom ages were estimated (using the methods described below) for previous research that focused on pre‐ vs. post‐Black Death trends in demography and on patterns of selective mortality during medieval famine events (DeWitte, , ; DeWitte & Wood, ; Yaussy, DeWitte, & Redfern, ).…”