By the year 1346, Europe was beginning to see a decline in the period known as the "High Middle Ages." Populations were on the wane and famine had helped to reduce them. Several Italian banks had gone under, and with them the dreams of enterprising traders and town-builders. And the Papacy had been headquartered at Avignon for more than 30 years.
The Hundred Years' War was under way, and in 1346 the English scored a significant victory at the Battle of Crécy. Spain was in the midst of turmoil: there was armed rebellion in Aragon, and Christian Castile was engaged in a conflict with Moorish Granada.
Trade had not long before opened up with eastern societies through Mongol territory (the Khanate of the Golden Horde), and the Italian cities of Genoa and Venice profited most significantly from new markets and new products. Unfortunately, these new trade routes would be instrumental in bringing to Europe from the far reaches of Asia the worst epidemic of plague Christendom had ever known.
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Go to:
- Introduction
- Europe on the Eve of Plague
- Origins of Plague
- The Black Death Comes to Europe
- A Swift Strike
- Italy
- France
- An Insidious Spread
- 1349