The Catholic clergy of England in the conditions of plague epidemics during the 14th–15th centuries

Abstract

This article discusses the social role played by the clergy and the Catholic Church in England during the plague epidemics of the late Middle Ages. The commonly held viewpoints of modern medieval researchers on assessing the phenomenon and consequences of plague epidemics in Europe are presented. It is shown that the population of the parishes of England, including the parish clergy, is the least studied social sphere of that period. The contemporaries perceived the events of the epidemic through a system of symbols that denoted the inevitability of a catastrophe for nature and society. The possible influence of the ideas about the alien in the liquidation of foreign monasteries, traditionally seen as resulting from the anti-papal sentiments in England, is considered using an interdisciplinary approach. The results obtained reveal that any astrological explanations for the plague were categorically denied in the highest echelons of church power. The ethical context of the disasters that befell was widely approved. Hence, the Church tried to morally improve the society to counteract the plague. The conclusion is made that the repeated plague epidemics caused substantial changes in the demographics of the late medieval population, including the parish clergy, which is evidenced by the reduction of at least 500 parishes in England. Based on the ethical explanation of the epidemics nature, the Catholic Church considered charity an important factor in rallying society and resisting the plague.

Keywords

• medieval england
• plague epidemic
• catholic church
• english clergy
• parish
• laity
• devotion
• charity