Greek Gods- Rome- Middle Ages- England

Battle of Poitiers

"Then was there a sore fight," say the chronicler Froissart, "and many a great stroke was given and received. The French King, with his own hands, did marvels in arms; he had a battle-ax in his hands, wherewith he defended himself, and fought in the thickest of the press."

But it was in vain. The third division of the French at last fled; and the King and his youngest son, refusing to flee, were taken captives by the English Prince. The whole English army was made rich by the gold, silver, and jewels which they took.

"That day," says Froissart, "whoever took any prisoner, he was clear his, and he might let him go or ransom him as he chose."

The French King was kept captive for four years, though he was entertained with great festivities. In 1360 he signed a peace (called the Peace of Bretigny) by which he agreed to pay an enormous ransom, and give up his rights as King over Gascony. In return, Edward III. agreed to give up his claim to the French throne.

This treaty was never fully carried out, and war began again nine years later. Edward III. was now feeble and worn-out, and the Black Prince was suffering from a disease which carried him off a year before his father finally died. On the other hand, an able and energetic King now sat on the French throne, who fought no useless battles, but bit by bit conquered the lands of the English. When Edward III. died, in 1377, Calais, and a very small part of Gascony, were all that remained of his once extensive possessions in France.

The Black Prince

For a time, the English people had profited from the French war. Almost every household could show some spoil—a featherbed, rich clothes, fine weapons—won by the bravery of husband, brothers, or sons. But soon heavy taxes had to be laid to provide for the expenses of the war. Worst of all, in the midst of this prosperity came a great pestilence, called the Black Death—the worst sickness that England ever knew.

The Black Death was a form of that disease called the "bubonic plague," which is still common in Asia. This attack started in China, and made its way slowly along the caravan routes of Asia, until it reached the Black Sea. It was carried by ships of Italian traders to the cities of Italy, and thence to France. It appeared in France two years after the battle of Crecy, and soon passed over into England. Germany, Norway, and Russia all suffered from it. It was the scourge of the civilized world.

We know that the "plague" is carried by a certain kind of fleas, which live on rats; and it is probable that the fleas and rats came in the bundles of merchandise which caravans and ships brought and spread throughout Europe. The disease spread from country to country, from city to city, from village to village, from house to house.

When it once appeared in a house, all of the inhabitants were almost sure to be attacked by it. Even pigs, sheep, and other animals died from its effects. It showed itself by the appearance of dark blotches and boils on the body, from which we give it its name—"the Black Death." Persons seized by it in the morning were often dead by night. Few recovered who were once attacked by it.

The number of persons who died is difficult to estimate. In some places almost all of the people perished; in England as a whole fully one-half were swept away. Probably one-third of the population of all Europe died from it. A monk described its ravages in France in these words:

"It is impossible to believe the number who have died throughout the whole country. Travelers, merchants, pilgrims, declare that they have found cattle wondering without herdsmen in fields, towns and waste lands. They have seen barns and wine-cellars standing wide open, houses empty, and few people to be found anywhere. In many towns where there were before 20,000 people, scarcely 2,000 are left. In many places the fields lie uncultivated."

Often there were left no priests to console the dying. The dead were buried hastily, great numbers at a time, in long ditches dug in the fields—for the cemeteries were filled to overflowing.

Try to think, for a moment, what all this meant to the countries concerned. The disease soon passed away, except for a few milder reappearances. But the effects of its ravages remained for centuries.

In England, before the Black Death, there were about four or five millions of people. When it had passed away, there were about half this number, and it was long before the number of inhabitants again rose as high as three million.

Field laborers became scarce, and those who were left demanded increased wages. Many "villains" left the estates of their masters, and fled to the towns, or found places elsewhere where their lot was easier. Parliament passed laws to keep wages and prices at their old level, but these could not be enforced. The old system of labor and agriculture broke down, and a new one gradually took its place. In part the change was a benefit to the laborers, by enabling them in the end to better their condition; but at all events it was a revolution in the organization of society.

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