More continuity than change following the Black Death epidemic in medieval Cambridge

Abstract

Abstract The Black Death epidemic of Yersinia pestis (1347-50 CE) killed about half the population of England, and many historical changes have been ascribed to it. But we still know surprisingly little about how the epidemic actually affected people’s daily lives. This study reports results from a broad bioarchaeological study, with 18 skeletal and molecular indicators from 336 adults from Cambridge, England (940–1561 CE). Results reveal two major findings. First, although the epidemic killed millions, no dramatic changes in skeletal indicators of health and lifestyle are directly ascribable to the epidemic. Most indicators either remained stable, or changed in response to other known historical trends. Traumatic though the plague was, it did not transform medieval people’s health and lifeways radically. Secondly, there were important long-term health trends beginning before the Black Death, notably a decline in stature. This may be due to a general 14th -century environmental and economic deterioration which left the population more vulnerable to novel epidemic diseases.