ABSTRACT
The ‘calamitous’ 14th century saw the reversal of centuries of demographic growth as a series of disasters including famines and epidemics caused population levels to plummet across Europe. In places such as England, recovery did not take place for more than 200 years. Evidence is now emerging to challenge this view, derived from new approaches which enable change in rural settlements to be reconstructed. This chapter explores how this informs our understanding of the impact of the 14th-century demographic collapse in England, bearing in mind that similar effects were felt across much of Europe and beyond. The excavation of more than 2,000 test-pits in currently occupied rural settlements in East Anglia has indicated that, contrary to previous presumptions, 90% of rural settlements decreased in size or density in the 14th–16th centuries. Some settlements fragmented while others collapsed in on themselves, with long-established zones and those close to the church and to neighbours particularly attractive as jeopardy stalked opportunity.
