How the Black Death Raised Wages and Weakened Medieval Feudalism
The Black Death made workers scarce, raised wages, and shifted bargaining power away from medieval landowners. In the summer of 1349, an English landowner could have fields full of ripe grain but no one available to harvest it. Only a few years earlier, peasants had little power to refuse work or demand better conditions. After the Black Death, that relationship began to change. Nearby manors and towns were competing for the same small number of surviving workers. For the first time, many laborers could ask a simple but powerful question: “How much will you pay me?” The Black Death Was a Massive Labor Supply Shock The Black Death spread across Europe from 1347 and killed a large share of the population within only a few years. Estimates vary by region, but many historians believe that around 30% to 50% of Europe’s population died. The land did not disappear. Fields still needed to be planted and harvested. Animals still needed care. Homes, mills, castles, and city walls still req...