ABSTRACT
This chapter is a catalogue that discusses 20 selected disasters which illustrate the wide range of environmental hazards experienced during the Middle Ages Disasters struck regularly, but unpredictably, across time and space each of them a unique event in terms of both their precise physical characteristics and the socio-political context in which they occurred. Arranged in chronological order, the entries cover hazards such as drought, arson, disease, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, agrarian crisis, floods and storm surges across Europe, describing the conditions which gave rise to these events, their immediate impacts and their longer-term consequences. Each case emphasizes the archaeological evidence, including architectural recording and structural evidence as well as material culture, and provide references pointing to further reading. The 1540 Pan-European Mega-Drought, 1531 Lisbon Earthquake and Tsunami, 1522 Earthquake and Landslide on the Island of SÃo Miguel, and Sweating Sickness are some disasters discussed in the chapter.
