The Black Death

Recurrence of the Plague

One of the worst effects of the plague was that it came not once, but over and over. It was never as bad as the first instance. In some cases the plague was as virulent but it was more limited in geographic scope. A couple of times it covered Europe again, but not with such devastation.

It was this recurrence that so reduced the population of Europe, as countries never really had the chance to recover properly before another outbreak would occur. All through the second half of the fourteenth century, every generation was visited by the plague. It struck again and again in the 15th century, but less frequently.

Those were the worst centuries, but there were local epidemics for another two hundred years. Parts of Europe did not recover their pre-plague population until the 17th century.

History of Western Civilization

E.L. Skip Knox
Boise State University

Comments and questions