Black Death - Causes, Symptoms & Impact - Research Paper Example

Fluctuations in prices and wages were a proof of such, as did sudden changes in the patterns of transactions and relations between agricultural workers and landowners. For instance, sharecropping became widespread in northern Italy, and many assume that feudalism in Europe was completely disintegrating because of the grave need of landlords for eager workers (Byrne 57-58). A number of destitute became wealthy, and the wealthy became wealthier as resources were reallocated by means of inheritances and additional economic prospects.

This paper analyzes how the Black Plague changed Europe, particularly the region’s economy. Governments were forced to modify their techniques of collecting revenue, while getting involved in at times radical means to sustain the status quo between the rich and the poor. The cursing by the plague of the clergy right together with their supporters changed numerous beliefs of the people about the Church and its part in holding humankind within God’s mercy. Women and men took part in religious activities without the precaution previously performed to educate, train, and screen them, and detractors commented about the unfavorable outcome (Spielvogel 234).

It is not an exaggeration to say that the foundations of Protestantism were built after the massive plague. European culture transformed as well, while vernacular literature and learning progressed against the Latin of the Church and governments. Not merely were there substantially raised demands and additional prospects for priests, craftsmen, and farm laborers, but also for teachers, doctors, legal officials, and lawyers. Newly built universities and schools seemed to fulfill the need and demand, and several of them supported reforms that finally ended the medieval period (Spielvogel 234-5).

However, the greatest impact of the Black Plague was on the European economy. The epidemic took the lives of both those who supplied the goods and those who demanded them, yet generally