Lucy Worsley Investigates: The Black Death
How did the Black Death change Britain? Lucy Worsley examines the latest science and explores how the huge death toll affected religious beliefs, class structure, work and women.
Transcript
00:04In 1348, the Black Death
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undefined:undefinedthree million were left alive.
00:30Why did this disease claim so many,
00:33and how did the awful death
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undefined:undefinedlosing their lives.
00:54Bam, bam, bam.
00:56These stories are part of our
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undefined:undefinedwe have new ways to unlock
01:14their secrets, using scientific
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undefined:undefinedand follow new clues
01:33to get closer to the truth.
01:36It is one of the great
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undefined:undefinedthe great mortality.
02:09There's lots of different names
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undefined:undefinedand the worst outbreak in 1348,
02:31when something like half of the
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undefined:undefinedwhat the Black Death was,
02:57and why the outbreak in 1348
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undefined:undefinedof someone buried in a mass grave
03:23at the height of the plague,
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undefined:undefinedaren't they?
03:43Osteologist, Jelena Bekvalac,
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undefined:undefinedthe teeth of these skeletons
04:02confirmed what had actually
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undefined:undefinedrecreating and reconstructing
04:19an ancient genome.
04:20And by doing that, they were
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undefined:undefinedto us because we, as a population
04:39at that time, had never been exposed
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undefined:undefinedof the Black Death that we know
04:56killed so many people, there were
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undefined:undefinedinto the plague pit to be buried,
05:16I imagine that he would have had big
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undefined:undefinedinside them?
05:31Well, there'd be nasty dead
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undefined:undefinedbacterium come from?
05:51Well, they believe that it probably
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undefined:undefinedof movement of people.
06:04So it probably started from there.
06:09Emerging global trade routes
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undefined:undefinedspread so aggressively
06:32and kill so many people?
06:36There were some images of life
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undefined:undefinedin a horrible attic
06:57infested with rats.
06:59Here they all are,
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undefined:undefinedscientific or historical evidence.
07:19I'm going to have to do better
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undefined:undefinedinfecting people
07:42as they bit into their flesh.
07:44One of the researchers was
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undefined:undefinedhuman being?
08:12Yes, infestation of lice and fleas
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undefined:undefinedthe handing down of clothes,
08:39that was a real thing.
08:41And we think that this is how
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undefined:undefinedpeople wouldn't
08:54have known, would they?
08:55They wouldn't have known that this
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undefined:undefinedinfectious droplets...
09:12Sorry, sorry, sorry, Fabienne,
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undefined:undefinedwho has a plague infection,
09:30when these people cough,
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undefined:undefinedand rapidly progressing disease.
09:44So it spreads, it can also spread
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undefined:undefinedclose contact.
09:58So it's usually people within the
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undefined:undefinedcompassion.
10:13Yeah, that's indeed horrible.
10:15And if someone had pneumonic
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undefined:undefinedplague was about 100%.
10:29100%?
10:31Yeah.
10:37So much new information here.
10:39I hadn't realised that there
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undefined:undefineddifferent vectors of transmission.
11:00We've got the rats and the fleas,
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undefined:undefinedlevels of medieval society.
11:24Now, what I do know about medieval
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undefined:undefinedguys - the peasants.
11:56And most of them aren't free.
11:59They're tied to the land from which
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undefined:undefinedpreaches to his parishioners
12:18that this is the way the world is.
12:20This is God's grand design.
12:28How did the Black Death transform
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undefined:undefinedof how they lived can be misleading.
12:46According to these images,
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undefined:undefinedthe Luttrell Psalter.
13:10It's a really fantastic illuminated
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undefined:undefinedthese images are
13:26as a guide to everyday life.
13:37First hand accounts of 14th century
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undefined:undefinedlived 700 years ago,
13:58you follow the money.
14:03In 14th-century England,
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undefined:undefinedof peasant life.
14:20Fines were paid for disobedience
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undefined:undefinedpaid a death tax
14:36to inherit the lease
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undefined:undefinedof a small Suffolk village
14:57called Walsham le Willows.
15:01I do know my way to the Suffolk
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undefined:undefinedin 1348.
15:19What can they tell me about
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undefined:undefinedExcel spreadsheet quality to it.
15:47But I know that buried
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undefined:undefinedin the same village,
16:09and you don't normally get that...
16:13..that sort of longitudinal view
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undefined:undefinedin medieval Latin.
16:36Fortunately for me, there's
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undefined:undefinedin June 1349.
17:03The court session for that month
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undefined:undefinedwith the business of 103 deaths.
17:30It's extraordinary.
17:31And you can see that the clerk
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undefined:undefinedwhat he cares about
17:47is that there's business to be done
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undefined:undefinedyou have to give the landlord
18:19one of your animals.
18:24But these 103 deaths listed
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undefined:undefinedrelevant to the records.
18:44Factor them in, and the deaths must
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undefined:undefinedinteresting family
19:08who are marked out with a cross
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undefined:undefineda tenement and...
19:38..he's died and he has to pay
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undefined:undefinedand the heriot has to be paid.
19:57But this time they haven't got any
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undefined:undefinedof what happened to them.
20:14It wasn't just one generation
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undefined:undefinedpeasant family.
20:38I want to investigate their life
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undefined:undefinedis Walsham le Willows.
20:5520 miles inland from the Suffolk
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undefined:undefinedto wind the clock back to the years
21:15just before the Black Death.
21:18What was pre-pandemic life
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undefined:undefinedcalled Frances Jenner.
21:41She's the chairperson of
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undefined:undefinedthe court rolls of Walsham,
22:04and she's been studying
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undefined:undefinedstill a very rural community.
22:17So where are you bringing
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undefined:undefinedin this very field, then?
22:40We're totally in their neck
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undefined:undefinedcombing through the court rolls,
22:52have you developed in your mind,
22:54the character of this
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undefined:undefinedsheep on the verges
23:14and all sorts of things.
23:16And I just get the impression that
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undefined:undefineddo you think the lives
23:30of the Cranmers were, living here?
23:33Prior to the Black Death,
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undefined:undefinedthat we know today,
23:53it was really tall.
23:54So storms would basically
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undefined:undefinedthe taxes to the lord of the manor.
24:10So they were being squeezed
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undefined:undefinedpretty miserable.
24:31In these years of pre-pandemic
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undefined:undefinedon a neighbour
24:45when THEY broke the rules.
24:47William might have a few acres
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undefined:undefinedlist numerous villagers
25:06in the same situation.
25:08While they struggle, they're also
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undefined:undefinedthe court rolls,
25:22I come across another strain
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undefined:undefinedthe grandfather of the family.
25:50Her name's Olivia.
25:52And the reason that she comes
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undefined:undefinedin medieval society was condemned
26:21by the church,
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undefined:undefinedwith his own land-holdings.
26:46Was Robert the father?
26:48Was this a forced marriage?
26:50The rolls make no mention.
26:54Now that I've learnt more about the
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undefined:undefinedfrom the coast into the countryside.
27:31Now Walsham might feel like it's
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undefined:undefinedLondon, but crucially,
27:49it's only 26 miles, or a day's walk,
27:53from the international port
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undefined:undefinedwere utterly apocalyptic.
28:14And this sounds frankly implausible.
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undefined:undefined460
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedhe talks about the plague
28:31travelling via Genoese ships
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undefined:undefinedfrom this pub.
28:51You can imagine people here
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undefined:undefinedstruck Walsham.
29:14But is there evidence in the court
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undefined:undefinedand here we've got...
29:28..how many men? I think it's...
29:30Yes, it's 11 men in total
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undefined:undefineddoing instead?
29:44Well, this might be my imagination,
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undefined:undefined11 men thought,
30:00right, the plague is coming,
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undefined:undefinedthat doomsday was approaching.
30:22How did those in power try
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undefined:undefinedto be guided in all things,
30:46both on Earth and spiritually,
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undefined:undefinedin the autumn of 1348.
31:01The king, Edward III, tells the
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undefined:undefinedthis letter after its first word,
31:18which is, "Terribilis..."
31:22..terrible.
31:27This was a mass communication,
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undefined:undefined510
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedkingdom is to be oppressed
31:54"by the pestilence and wretched
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedTen Commandments was a sin.
32:21But the medieval church was
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undefined:undefinedplague on immoral women
32:45and their choice of dress.
32:47OK, here we've got some very
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undefined:undefinedhas got great big holes,
33:03enormous armholes in it, so you can
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undefined:undefinedprayer could quell God's wrath
33:28and stop the pestilence.
33:30But no amount of praying
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undefined:undefined540
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undefined:undefinedand broken out in York.
33:53Everywhere, communities
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undefined:undefineddepictions, it's from 1349,
34:21of a plague pit,
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undefined:undefinedall over Britain,
34:42all over Europe,
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undefined:undefinedand sudden change in this society.
35:05With people surrounded
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undefined:undefinedspecialises in the impact
35:22of the Black Death on faith
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undefined:undefinedWhy is that?
35:38So in the 14th century,
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undefined:undefinedlessen the amount of time
35:53they're going to spend there,
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undefined:undefinedthen, how's the church
36:10going to respond,
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedclose contact.
36:25They're leaning in to listen
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undefined:undefinedto extreme shortages.
36:39So there's a big problem
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undefined:undefinedhe can recruit more priests.
36:56And it says, "Because of
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undefined:undefinedof novices who are currently
37:12being pushed through the
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undefined:undefinednew priests.
37:25One chronicler even says quite
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undefined:undefinedpossibly more than before.
37:40So we have lots of people
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undefined:undefinedreligious faith,
37:54it strengthened it.
38:01Pilgrimage, especially,
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undefined:undefinedof all was the awe-inspiring
38:22Canterbury Cathedral.
38:27It's utterly overwhelming in here.
38:29It's a...
38:31..it's a splendid visual feast,
38:35even for a 21st-century person!
38:39Imagine what it would have been like
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undefined:undefinedhave seen this stained glass window.
39:09The peasant classes might have been
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undefined:undefinedbecause it comes from Canterbury,
39:34but it's also supposed to contain
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undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedyour dead son back to life."
39:55A booming trade grew around
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undefined:undefined642
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedor ampoules, as they're called,
40:14is housed in the local museum.
40:20This is the most fabulous
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined648
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedinside your tiny flask.
40:38You'd stopper it up and you'd take
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined652
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthat would keep them safe?"
40:52But to a 14th-century person,
40:55desperately frightened
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined657
undefined:undefined658
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefineda clear risk
41:17with so many people mixing
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined662
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedwith pilgrims staying here,
41:53it would have been really grim.
41:55It would not have been a nice stay,
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined675
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedof people into your...
42:09Yeah, there probably would
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined680
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedof creepy crawlies and bugs.
42:29The pilgrims sleeping in here
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined684
undefined:undefined685
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthere's a terrible,
42:45horrible irony here,
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined689
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedlice, and the rats.
43:01And then, you know, they were all
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined693
undefined:undefined694
undefined:undefined695
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedwas prorogued -
43:23it was shut down.
43:25For a moment, no-one, it seems,
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined700
undefined:undefined701
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedwere horrendous.
43:44Every day, it was getting
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined705
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedand her brother.
44:12Three generations of Cranmers,
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined710
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedRobert also succumbs.
44:37But I can find no mention
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined714
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedhow it spread.
45:06But in any case,
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined722
undefined:undefined723
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedif you'd live or die.
45:27By Autumn 1349,
45:30the Black Death was raging
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined728
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedplague back to Scotland with them,
45:45where the disease flared up
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined732
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedwas like in the immediate aftermath
46:15of plague, are scant.
46:17Those that survive are mainly
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined738
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedand he's writing in 1350.
46:39So only just after the Black Death,
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined743
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefineda shortage of servants,
47:01"craftsmen and workmen, and of
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined748
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedI want to find out what effect
47:23that had on society
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined752
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedwhen, potentially, nearly half
47:43the population of a country dies?
47:45Well, it's a very special
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined758
undefined:undefined759
undefined:undefined760
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedpeasantry, demanding far more
48:12in pay, but also they're demanding
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined764
undefined:undefined765
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedWhy is that?
48:32If you compare it with modern times,
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined770
undefined:undefined771
undefined:undefined772
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedtheir own land.
48:50You haven't got huge supply lines
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined776
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthe situation is very direct.
49:07And what evidence is there
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined780
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthat they want.
49:25And there's a splendid description
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined786
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedto him as a bribe
49:42to stay and work, to keep working.
49:45Wow! So if I were at the peasant
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined792
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthe property of your family.
50:01Sometimes a large number of family
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined797
undefined:undefined798
undefined:undefined799
undefined:undefined800
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedit didn't by rushing
50:29through a new national statute,
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined804
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedus what it's all about.
50:47It says, "The King and the nobles
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined811
undefined:undefined812
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedto get imprisoned.
51:09Hmm, it also says that you're not
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined817
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedif you live in Staffordshire,
51:23Lancashire, Derbyshire,
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined821
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedopportunities for a new life,
51:40what does this mean for farming
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined826
undefined:undefined827
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedand tax from the Cranmer lands,
52:10so a radical decision is made.
52:13Olivia is listed as heir...
52:16..and granted tenancy
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined834
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedout of Black Death."
52:39But have a look at this.
52:42You go through the court rolls,
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined842
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthey're economically relevant.
53:10And I'm wondering if this is
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined846
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedin the wake of the Black Death?
53:30Professor Caroline Barron
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined850
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedis that women are emerging,
53:48holding down jobs, being apprenticed
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined854
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedowner had died,
54:05his wife might sort of be forced,
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined858
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedhis business.
54:20And in fact, they actually made
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined862
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedbeen able to research?
54:34Well, in the immediate aftermath
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined867
undefined:undefined868
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthe business from him.
54:51We find her running his workshop,
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined872
undefined:undefined873
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedrecognised this position
55:06that she's achieved, so it shows you
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined877
undefined:undefined878
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedof Seaford, near Lewes.
55:22And she's apprenticing herself
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined882
undefined:undefined883
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedto be a tentmaker?
55:37She's going to learn the craft
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined887
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedthe apprentice.
55:49Was this a bit like during the world
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined891
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedSecond World War in America.
56:03It's all to do with the shortage
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined895
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedfreedom and empowerment.
56:27And despite efforts to return things
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined900
undefined:undefined901
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedOlivia of Cranmer,
56:54and it looks like she may have lived
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined908
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedpopulation to get back
57:19to pre-pandemic levels.
57:21And the psychological impact of
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined914
undefined:undefined915
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedafter the Black Death of 1348.
57:46I think it shows the lasting
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined919
undefined:undefined920
undefined:undefined921
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedwhile you can.
58:11The princes in the Tower.
58:13How did a power struggle
undefined:undefined00:00:09,919 --> 00:00:12,199
undefined:undefined926
undefined:undefined
undefined:undefinedusing violence, or you're toast.