Medieval London during the plague (1348–1351): Some aspects of social life

Abstract

The article examines certain aspects of the social life of the City during the period of the plague (1348–1351) based on the documentation of the London Magistrate. It is shown that the Black Death dealt the most severe blow to the capital’s guilds, depriving them of workers and temporarily disorganizing production, which affected both the quality of manufactured products and relations inside trade and craft corporations, contributing to their further decline. Being unable to cope with the growth of social activity of journeymen, apprentices and servants, the masters were forced to appeal to the authority of the City administration, demanding from it the confirmation of previously established restrictive measures. Another important aspect of everyday life in London was overcoming such consequences of the crisis as the growth of crime and the restoration of shaken public mores, which were also fought through attempts at greater regulation and prohibitions. However, these measures did not bring tangible results.

Keywords

• london
• black death
• epidemic
• everyday life
• ordinances and proclamations
• wages and prices
• decomposition of the guild organization