It has always been notoriously difficult to find archaeological evidence for the Black Death although in recent year’s sites such as the Royal Mint, in East Smithfield, London, have been partially excavated. These remain the only Black Death cemeteries known in the City but are also extremely rare across Europe (Hawkins 1990, 637; Knusel & Margerison 2002, 134). The archaeology undertaken into burial practices during the Black Death can help shed light on mortality rates and religious practice, but perhaps more significant to this thesis, hierarchical divisions visible in the graves and pits. As shall be seen in chapter 4, the architecture of the period reflected the rigidity of social divide, from the house of the Yeoman right up to Royal households. With such divisions in class eloquently set in stone, are these divisions reflected during such a crisis as death on an unprecedented level? If social division is irrelevant during the burial of individuals, is this reflected elsewhere in the arts, architecture and trades of the time? The following text aims to answer these questions.

The two London relief cemeteries existed to ease pressure on local churchyards. The excavation of one, conducted by the Museum of London’s Department of Greater London Archaeology between June 1986 and June 1988 (Hawkins 1990, 638), revealed two pits 67m and 125m in length, running north to south, and averaging 2 metres wide, at a depth of 1.25m. Although both the pits were densely packed with skeletal remains (Hawkins 1990, 638; Ottaway 1992, 209), both Hawkins and Horrox explain that the bodies were still buried with respect, indicated by the west-east orientation of the articulated skeletons, averaging 5 bodies deep (Hawkins 1990, 638; Horrox et al. 1999, 105). No grave markers, graveyard structures nor boundaries were found in the excavated areas (Hawkins 1990, 640).

Not all contemporary burials on this site were mass graves; some had been interred in coffins, shrouds or buried with ashes, while others had large coin groups buried with them. However, Hawkins suggests there is no significance in distribution, associated with these practices, nor can they infer any relationship to status (Hawkins 1990, 640). This would appear to be in direct opposition to the contemporary social structure, demarcated by the tripartite house plan (Roberts 2003, 126-7), (see chapter 2.3.2). The archaeology could not shed any light on the chronologies of those interred in individual graves, compared to those placed in mass pits, as no time differences could be inferred by analysing the grave cuts, or fills and there were no stratigraphic indicators to suggest a time sequence (Hawkins 1990, 640). One key note of Hawkins is that there is no distinguishable difference between these examples and late medieval graves in general and, that if it were not for documents pertaining to the sole use of this cemetery for plague victims, it would have been difficult to prove. This, he suggests, is the reason why it is hard to find any archaeological evidence of the Black Death, in other cemeteries, as there are no differentiating factors (Hawkins 1990, 640-1).

Another outcome of the Royal Mint excavation is the unique opportunity to investigate the potential for any archaeological evidence of the Great Famine (1315-17), in the skeletal remains from the site (Antoine & Hillson 2005, 27). In their current research, Antoine and Hillson aim to examine skeletons and particularly dental remains of individuals over the age of 30, to see if any effects of the famine can be found in their growth patterns. This particular demographic was selected as they would have been children who survived the famine but died in adulthood, during the Black Death (Antoine & Hillson 2005, 27). A group of 30 individuals over the age of 30 were selected, as well as a control group of 7 individuals, less than 30 years of age; 4 to 6 teeth were removed from each, for microscopic analysis. Antoine and Hillson suggest that that teeth form growth rings, similar to that of trees, whilst they are forming in a pre-teen years and, that an ‘enamel prism cross-striation’ forms, for each year of growth. They suggest that “it is possible to use these structures to build a detailed chronology of tooth formation and to map out any disruptions that may have occurred during formation” such as malnutrition in childhood (Antoine & Hillson 2005, 27). Unlike bones, teeth can not regenerate and, therefore, produce a permanent record of growth. As with dendrochronology (see chapter 4.1), these growth rings can be matched across the subject group, to map any changes in the formations and produce an accurate date for any disruptions. They are currently analysing the tooth samples and propose to cross reference growth disruptions with fluctuations of wheat prices from historical accounts of the famine (Antoine & Hillson 2005, 27).

Additional archaeological information, regarding the Royal Mint site, was undertaken by Knüsel and Margerison, who compared the “catastrophic” cemetery (one built almost instantly in response to increased mortality) with a contemporary attritional cemetery (one built over time), from St. Helen-on-the-Walls, Yorkshire, dating from the 12th to 16th century (Knusel & Margerison 2002, 134). Their work employs paleodemographic techniques to assess any impact of the Black Death on the archaeological skeletal remains, to determine whether such an epidemic can be traced in the skeletal record, in the absence of any other archaeological, historical or documentary evidence; “if so, the resulting paleodemographic profile could be used to assess mass graves from other periods” (Knusel & Margerison 2002, 134). The site of St. Helen-on-the-Walls showed many phases of rebuilding and restructuring, between late 10th and 15th centuries, with the majority of inhumations dating from the third rebuild, from the early 14th century onwards (Knusel & Margerison 2002, 137). They report that “the burials were densely packed with little respect for previous burials, a situation that resulted in overlapping, damage, and considerable fragmentation of some skeletal remains” (Knusel & Margerison 2002, 137). The research, undertaken by Knüsel and Margerison, shows that there were differences in demographies. The Royal Mint site had a much lower proportion of 15-25 year olds than the St. Helen-on-the-Walls site, suggesting that people in this age group were more capable avoiding the plague, by migrating to the countryside, reversing the traditional migratory trends. They also found that the highest mortality rate was in the 25-35 age group who, they suggest, should not be dying in such great numbers (Knusel & Margerison 2002, 141). The result of their research is very interesting and, as we shall see in later chapters, significant to this research due to the reversed migration during this period of plague.

Further archaeological evidence for the Black Death exists in Baillie’s dendrochronological investigations, of Ireland, in the late 1970s (Baillie 1995, 124-34; Baillie 1982, 213-15).  His work, and the work of his contemporaries, discovered a break in tree-ring chronologies, between 1306 and 1357 (Baillie 1982, 213). He suggests contemporary theories accord this absence to higher mortality from the Black Death during this period which “caused a hiccup in building activity and allowed a lot of marginal land to go back to forest – forest which would be exploited for building purposes in the succeeding centuries” (Baillie 1995, 124). He refers to this change in woodland management as the “regeneration”, during the middle of the 14th century (Baillie 1982, 214). Baillie also provides graphs, of the same period, from Germany and Greece, both of which show a gap in the chronologies, around the time of the Black Death, in those respective countries. He also suggests that characteristics of wood use change, before and after, the Black Death across Europe, with “long-lived and narrow-ringed” trees before 1350, and “short-lived and wide-ringed” trees, in the 15th century (Baillie 1995, 125). His idea is, that change in timber characteristics is either due to rapid tree growth, from “existing root stocks (e.g. coppiced or pollarded oaks) or to growth in initial open conditions” (Baillie 1995, 125). Baillie then asks; had it not been for written records about the Black Death, could it have been inferred that a pandemic across Europe had struck, during the mid-14th century, purely from dendrochronological data? He adds, that a limited number of possibilities exist for a gap in data and a synchronous hiatus on building, spanning Europe through Ireland, Germany and Greece, inferring a major, widespread socio-economic collapse, or a pandemic. Baillie concludes, by saying “when one adds in the second tree-ring suggestion, of regeneration of trees on marginal land, with the implications that that must have for population contraction, my feeling is that pandemic would be the only possible realistic interpretation” (Baillie 1995, 125).

Bailey and Benedictow both posit that England was already undergoing economic decline, during the early fourteenth century, due to over-population and crop failure, further amplified by large family units and rising rents for the peasant class (Bailey 1998, 225-6; Benedictow 2004, 388)(Bailey 1998, Kitsikopoulos 2002). This has been described as England reaching a point where demand outstripped the supply of resources, resulting in worsened living standards and a greater vulnerability to disease and mortality (Horrox et al. 1999, 91). This was due, in part to the Great Famine (1315–1322), the Hundred Year War, between England and France, commencing 1337, and the internal conflicts with Scotland, by both King Edward I and III, resulting in Dyer naming his chapter on this period as “Crisis, c.1290-c.1350” (Aberth 2001a, 2; Dyer 2002, 228-63). Horrox suggests that approximately 15% of the English population was lost through the famines prior to the Black Death, whilst Aberth suggests that the figure in Winchester reached as high as 22% (Aberth 2001b, 20; Horrox et al. 1999, 91). This would have impacted the work force and greatly reduced the amount of skilled carpenters available to construct buildings and, it could be argued, to pass on their skills to subsequent generations.

Aberth also suggests that people of the time, through various chronicles, such as St John’s Apocalypse (Revelation 6), saw the Great Famine as the first apocalyptic horseman who, so often, “rode by side” with the second, war (Aberth 2001b, 2-3; Horrox et al. 1999, 114). Surely, this must give some indication as to the complete desperation felt, when the next generation was visited by the final two apocalypses (plague and death), in the form of the Black Death, striking at random, regardless of class and status (Aberth 2001a, 12-3). This, Aberth suggests, signalled the coming of the Antichrist’s reign on earth, during the 14th century (Aberth 2001a, 3).

Dyer describes the famine as being the consequence of crop failure, during 1314, due to wet weather (Dyer 2002, 230). This had recovered by 1318 but more crop failures, coincided with disease in both cattle and sheep, during 1319-21. He also describes the Bishop of Winchester’s manors, which spread from Somerset to Surrey, as only yielding around 55% of wheat compared to their previous averages. This figure is supported by Aberth, suggesting it was just over 40% below normal (Aberth 2001a, 20; Dyer 2002, 229). Crop failure and diseased livestock hit the economy hard, even down to artisans and traders who could not sell their wares, as people throughout society could only afford to spend the little they had on inflated food prices. Indeed, Dyer suggests that farm workers and labourers, who usually got paid in grain from the landowners and monasteries, were often deprived of their payments, or even dismissed from service. Beer manufacturing was also affected as most chose to buy bread over beer as the cost of malt had risen so high (Dyer 2002, 230). Peasants desperately tried to raise income by selling what little land they had. This is reflected in records suggesting, that in Suffolk, only sixty-five transfers of land occurred in 1315; by the following year this almost trebled to one hundred and eighty-eight (Dyer 2002, 231).

This rise in population led to smaller land holdings which, in turn, led to a decrease in income and employment (Dyer 1986). Due to an abundance of trades-people, long-term work, outside of the farming community, was extremely low paid and discontinuous, with the Lords of the manors imposing high rents and fines, coupled with heavy labour requirements, in return for poor housing conditions (Benedictow 2004, 362). This trend was most visible in the south-east and, predominately, affected lands surrounding the capital (Bailey 1998). With failing crops and less disposable income, peasants were forced to build and repair their own homes, on rented land. This resulted in many temporary dwellings not surviving in the archaeological record, making it extremely difficult to examine the day to day life of the peasant classes (Dyer 1986, Dyer 2002, Harris 1980).

Dyer and Harris’s theories of greater wealth and, larger more substantial buildings that tend to survive in greater numbers in the archaeological record following the Black Death, are generalised across England. James and Roberts (2000) however, suggest the trend is reversed in Winchester and its immediate surrounding area. In their regional study, James and Roberts posit that several houses in Winchester - the 1340 Wealden structure, 35 High Street and the “Great House”, at 42 High Street, along with two “king strut” houses at 42 Chesil Street, Winchester, dating to 1293 and 15 High Street, Fareham, of 1311 - all pre-date the Black Death. Houses, post-dating the Plague, in Winchester High Street, as shall be seen in chapter 7, are not as grand as those built before 1350. Figure ? clearly shows the difference in scale, between the pre- and post- 1350 buildings of Winchester High Street. It must be made clear though, that with the exception of 42 Chesil Street, these dwellings where not vernacular (those of the lower classes), but rather merchant properties.

Insert picture from (James & Roberts 2000, 198)

This reported strain on the economy and food stocks explains, in part, the reasons behind the famines and diseased livestock, but does little to explain why the Black Death spread so quickly and violently through northern Europe (Campbell 2000, 1). Campbell suggests that Europe was undergoing a “single prolonged episode of environmental disturbance” which he describes as placing great stress and shock upon the socio-economic infrastructure and, perhaps more damaging, the people and animals that lived through these severe environmental shocks (Campbell 2000, 2).

A consequence of the Black Death was that much of the previously occupied land and homes, unavailable to the peasant class, were left vacant. This created new opportunities for the peasant class, through either bequeathment, or lords desperately needing tenants to farm the lands (Benedictow 2004, 388)(Dyer 2002, Kitsikopoulos 2002). The peasant class now rose in status and became a middle class that owned homes and land to farm, providing food, both as provision and a saleable resource, thus, providing an income. This rising social class can be seen across Europe, following the unprecedented mortality rates (Benedictow 2004, 362). Due to this decrease in population, the size of peasant families and seigniorial burdens diminished. Economic growth ensued, boosted by wage increases and work opportunities, which in turn raised the standard of living (Bailey 1998, 224-6; Dyer 2002, 273-6; James 1999a, 9; Johnson 1997; Kitsikopoulos 2002). This also provided the farmer with an improved choice of land due to lower rents (James 1999a, 9). In the aftermath of the Black Death townspeople were healthier, enjoying a more favourable diet of meat and beer, instead of bread, corn and ales (Dyer 1998, 298). Following the mass leasing of land to the peasant classes, and their rise in status, the landlords sought to re-impose economic control, by enforcing tenant labour service obligations, collecting fines and reducing wages (Dyer 2002, Kitsikopoulos 2002). Understandably, the peasants were reluctant to return to pre-Black Death conditions. This climaxed in the social revolt of 1381 against feudal nobility (Dyer 2002, Kitsikopoulos 2002). Dyer further posits that during this time, there was a reversal of fortunes; the feudal lords were forced to eat bread, whilst the peasants, fuelled by huge wage increases, enjoyed a more varied diet including meats.

When this is taken into consideration, it is easy to see that few vernacular houses, built during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, would have been substantial, due to economic conditions and, hence very few examples survive (Dyer 1986, Dyer 2002, Harris 1980). (as evidence becomes apparent through the research, I will explain why this is not so much the case in Hampshire as opposed to Sussex, Essex etc as discussed by dyer and Harris). However, by the beginning of the fifteenth century, the average person owned land and enjoyed a substantial and reliable income, in which to invest in a larger, more permanent dwelling. These structures can be found in great number within the archaeological record (Dyer 1986, Johnson 1997). The money would then also have been available to hire professional carpenters to construct the house, as opposed to the “do-it-yourself” approach they were dependant upon. This is reflected in the evolution of English carpentry of the time (Dyer 1998, 298) (Dyer 1986, Hewett 1969, Hewett 1980).

Dyer suggests that builders, in general, accounted for approximately one in twenty of the work force in towns and even less in the country. What percentage of these builders were carpenters is unclear, but it must have been fewer than the combined workforce estimate (Dyer 1998, 220). It must be made clear though, that this number is only a reflection of payment records and, Dyer goes on to say, that the pay received by the mason or carpenter would often include payment for materials and apprentices, with the master carpenter being similar to a modern day building contractor, being more organisational and logistical, than hands on (Dyer 1998, 220). Also, the building trade was one of the few trades that received cash payments, as opposed to payment in kind of food, shelter and clothing (Dyer 1998, 220-1). Benedictow suggests, the income enjoyed by the building trades, of the mid-15th century, was as high as that of the end of the 19th century (Benedictow 2004, 389). The 16th century is also when the standard house form moves away from the open hall, in favour of ceiled and separated rooms now heated by chimneys rather than open hearths (Harris 1978, 31).

There also appears to be a change in attitudes, throughout society, to an increased privacy and simplicity that is played out in the architecture. For instance, the demarcation of living and social space, within the home, is reflected by the building of ceiled rooms and the move away from the open hall house which Dyer suggests, “reached its ultimate development in about 1500” (Dyer 1998, 298). This can be seen as a desire, in part, to separate themselves from the dirt of the streets, servants and animals. Benedictow argues that both the rural and urban peasant classes were affected more than the upper classes, due to the type of housing available to them. The majority of houses built, especially in central southern and south-eastern England, were of timber-framed construction, with wattle and daub infill panels and thatched roofs (see chapter 4). He suggests that these panels offered very little resistance to the rats and, this, coupled with unsanitary conditions, amplified by cohabitation with livestock and sleeping directly on an earthen floor, with nothing more than hay as bedding, would have provided the rats with a suitable habitat to breed and spread disease (Benedictow 2004, 348).

Ottaway writes of Edward III’s visit to York, in 1332, that the King “ordered the streets to be cleaned, on account of ‘the abominable smell abounding in the said city more than in any other city in the realm from dung and manure and other filth and dirt wherewith the streets and lanes are filled and obstructed’” (Ottaway 1992, 209). Benedictow also suggests that Edward wrote to the mayor of London, in 1349, to complain about the filth within the capital. He followed this, in 1361, with a writ to the major and sheriffs of London, in the face of the second outbreak of the plague (Benedictow 2004, 3-4). Dyer goes on to suggest that the resulting roof spaces, formed by ceiling the hall, provided accommodation for servants and, perhaps, more interestingly for this thesis, apprentices away from the main family, improving sanitation and separating humans from one another (Dyer 1998, 298).

In towns there is archaeological evidence to suggest that the rich and ambitious lived alongside the poor. In pre-Black Death Winchester, for example, at Lower Brook Street, the remains of wealthy merchants’ houses lay adjacent to humble two-roomed cottages. This appears not to be the case in post-Black Death towns (Ottaway 1992, 180). This separation from ‘ones peers’ is also seen in the religious iconography and art of the time, with human intimacy being replaced by isolated figures, distanced from each other and, a greater exaltation of God, with a return to early medieval symbolism (Lindley 1996, 126).

William of Edington, better known as the Bishop of Winchester (1345-66), served as the Treasurer of England for King Edward III (1327-77) and was an incredibly wealthy man, prior to the Black Death. In the 1350s, he used his money to build a collegiate chantry, fortress like in its appearance, in Wiltshire, to make provision for his soul (Platt 1996, 138-9). It seems likely that such a building was in direct response to the sheer loss of life he would have witnessed during that time. Platt suggests the almost military austerity of the church is due to the lack of available tradesmen, even to someone with Edington’s wealth. This is due, in part, to Edward III’s ongoing construction work at Windsor, coupled with the losses resulting from the Black Death. The style of the chantry is in direct contrast to other churches built a short time earlier, in the decorated style (Platt 1996, 139-41).

This break in architectural styles is thoroughly examined by Platt, who gives numerous examples in chapter nine, “Architecture and the arts” of his book King Death (Platt 1996, 137-75). To summarise Platt’s examination of the evidence of change within churches, suggests that they no longer needed to focus on expanding the body of the church, in order to accommodate a growing congregation but rather to build, in order to house chantries, effigies (often incorporating a skeletal representation known as a “transi” from the Latin transpire - meaning to pass away) great monuments and the like; to provide a focus for the living to pray for the souls of the departed (Aberth 2001a, 182-3). English tombs, before the Black Death, often had angels alongside an idealised effigy of the diseased, perhaps depicting how the person would look after resurrection; known as “gisants”. After the Black Death, single (common amongst the merchant class and gentry), or two-tiered (a luxury afforded only by the rich) “transi” tombs became the norm. Aberth sees these tomb types as a preparation for the apocalypse rather than an appeal for prayer (Aberth 2001a, 229-31). These new “memorials” were funded by wealthy patrons to ensure their prosperity in the afterlife. This can be interpreted as people accepting their mortality, with a switch from preparing for death to protecting the soul after death (Platt 1996, Ch 9). Lindley adds to this argument by saying that the switch, from the decorated to perpendicular style, is a reflection of simplicity in design, enforced by the scarcity of skilled tradesmen, post 1350 (Lindley 1996, 129). Lindley also observes this transition of styles as a universal change, replacing the regional differences, in previous styles. It can be argued that the workforce had to have greater mobility, in order to carry out and finish the work, halted by the pestilence (Lindley 1996, 129).

Aberth describes many of the great Romanesque cathedrals, in France, as bearing depictions of the apocalypse and images of the Last Judgement, with inscriptions from the book of Revelation (Aberth 2001a, 183). In England, the Last Judgement of Christ was often painted above the chancel arch of many parish churches during the 14th century, with images of the dead rising to have their souls weighed, then being admitted into paradise or rejected into Hell (Aberth 2001a, 184). These images rarely survive today as they were painted over by the Victorians. As Winchester Cathedral sits within the scope of this thesis, any visible evidence will be examined later on in this thesis.

Attitudes toward death practices also changed. Prior to the 1350s, deathbeds were public occasions where family and friends took their turn to watch over the dying and note any change in symptoms. This culminated in a priest administering the last rites and the journey being marked by the ringing of a hand bell (Horrox et al. 1999, 97). Subsequent to the plague, fear of infection lead to loved ones abandoning the sick, leaving them to die alone. The Bishop of Bath and Wells decreed that, in times of emergency, if no priest was available the last rites and confession could be heard by “a layman, and, if a man is not at hand, then to a woman” (Hassall 1962, 297), for faith, not tradition, was the important element in avoiding purgatory (Horrox 1994, 271-2). The implications of this are profound within a society that has its class and gender divisions defined so eloquently in its architecture (Johnson 1990, 254). If evidence is sought for a “building on fear?” hypothesis, then the breaking down of class, gender and spatial divisions during the Black Death must be visible in the architecture, even if it only exists in the “nightmares of the living” (Johnson 1990, 254-5). If this unnerving of the social framework is visible within the timber-framed structures of the second half of the 14th century, then this thesis aims to uncover them. The following section will provide such evidence within the arts of the period.

These change in attitudes can also be observed in the art of the period (Lindley & Ormrod 1996, 126). Lindley suggests that there is a profound change, in both style and taste, in Florentine and Sienese painting, following the Black Death, characterised by a distinct paradoxical definition of space, in both architectural and artistic organisation and lay out. He further posits, the equilibrium of the earlier paintings was substituted with an uneasy tension between the planar and spatial aspects of composition (Lindley & Ormrod 1996, 126). Lindley examines the implications on several art forms, including manuscript painting which, immediately before the Black Death, had reached its “highest point of its perfection” (Lindley & Ormrod 1996, 126). Aberth adds that, during the 13th century, a school of manuscript illuminators emerged producing “beautifully illuminated editions of the Apocalypse of St. John” (Aberth 2001a, 185-6). He suggests this was in response to an Abbot, named Joachim, who predicted that the apocalyptic age began in 1260. He suggests it was brought to England by Richard the Lionheart (1189-99), during the third crusade (1189–1192) (Aberth 2001a, 185-6).  This is important as it illustrates the thoughts of people, at the time when famine, war and plague visited them and, consequently their acceptance of death. Another interesting change in style can be seen in monumental brasses that changed from being beautifully adorned, with complex calligraphy, to a more rigid and regularised style (Lindley 1996, 129). To summarise Lindley’s narrative on “The English perspective”, regarding this change in artistic styles, he suggests that prior to the Black Death many schools had developed regional styles in art, masonry, sculpting and stained glass work -etc. These were hastily replaced with a more simplistic, spatial and universal approach easily learnt and reproduced. Clearly, this is a direct result of the loss of skilled artisans and tradesmen during the mid fourteenth century (Lindley 1996, 128-31).

Haddlesey, R 2008. "The Black Death". British Medieval Architecture. (online) www.medievalarchitecture.net/black_death.html

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