Peasants' Revolt, 1381

Peasants’ Revolt, 1381. Jean Froissart, Chroniques, vol. 2. (Froissart's Chronicles) Artist: Loyset Liédet (Flemish, 1420-1479) Source/Shelfmark: Royal 18 E.I, f.175. From the British Library archive, Bridgeman Images, New York, NY. Reproduced with permission. This is an example of the many serious effects of a widespread epidemic. Labor shortages caused by the mid-century epidemic of the Black Death were a major disruption to European society. In the aftermath of the epidemic, many agricultural workers were missing from labor-intensive food production. Before the plague's beginning, the population had been growing, thus keeping wages low, with prices and rents high. After the plague, the remaining, reduced number of rural workers demanded and sometimes obtained better working and living conditions. With the feudal system weakened, empowered peasants achieved a few areas of success, and in some locations they were paid in cash instead of in kind, thus giving them more money to spend in towns. At times, crowd uprisings were able to achieve more visibility and rights for the peasants, but the change was slow.