Life of Ordinary Scots in 1300-1500 - Essay Example

Life for the Ordinary Scots: 1300 to 1500 Short and harsh. Is this a fair of life for the majority of ordinary rural Scots between 1300 and 1500? Introduction The simplest answer to the question above is yes. However, the simple answer comes with an explanation which connects deeply with the social conditions that were present for Europe in general and the historical situation that developed in Scotland with regard to the wars and the social order of the times (Boardman, 2006). While the crusades changed the life of ordinary Scots in many ways, it was the Black Death and the emerging social order which made life short and harsh for ordinary Scots in rural areas between 1300 and 1500 (Bolton, 1970). A Short and Harsh Life The Black Death first appeared in Europe between 1347 and 1350 and by the time it had ended, it had killed more than a third of the population of Europe. It was essentially a pandemic which had severe social and drastic economic consequences therefore a discussion of these effects becomes very important when we are dealing with the social issues of the time. The Plague came to Europe from the East through trade routes that had ships which carried the Bubonic Plague. It hit Europe during an economic recession and only caused the economy to go down further (Bolton, 1970). Anyone struck with the plague would be dead within three to five days and some towns lost as much as 90% of their population within a matter of months. The rural areas were also affected by the plague even though the extent of the disease was comparatively lower. It was indeed a horrible experience as major European cities such as Venice and Pisa lost more than 70% of their population. Modern estimates show us that 25 million people died in Europe within a period of just five years between 1347 and 1352. The reaction to so many people dying at once was naturally one of fear and hatred. Fear of the wrath of god which started the Flagellant Movement and the fear of the outsider such as Jews who were blamed for having caused the plague. Artists also created works of art to deal with the huge number of dead and dying they saw around them and saints were made of individuals such as St. Roch and St. Sebastian who took it upon themselves to help the sick in those times. While Scotland was already in trouble before the plague, the coming of the plague only made matters worse (Hale et. al., 1965). The agricultural system in particular suffered greatly since the output was not high enough during those years to create food surpluses. In this manner, the plague only lowered the standard of living for many Scots. The church which was present in Scotland and across Europe was simply unable to deal with the disease and no matter what they tried; nothing could be done by the priests or the doctors of the time to cure the plague. In essence, all of Europe was placed in a constant state of grief as well as anxiety and it took the continent more than 150 years to recover from the overall affects (Hale et. al., 1965). However, once the ravages of the plague were over, it was realized that the problem of overpopulation had been solved and since land labour was in short supply, the life of the peasants improved somewhat. Rural Scots saw an increase in their living standards as the cost of labour rose to meet the short supply. The manor system disintegrated since the rising cost of labour as well as the decreased profits for manors meant that it was no longer a sustainable business model. On the other hand, the clan system gained strength as allegiance to members of the same clan improved the position of the rural Scotsman. At the same time, the economic upheavals and the destruction of the consumer base caused by the plague hurt the agrarian producers who were living in rural areas. Compared to them, urban population centres were able to recover quicker since the population migrated from the countryside to the towns (Bolton, 1970). However, this migration process brought its own set of problems such as unemployment, a huge gap between the rich and the poor and the increased importance of the guild system for the protection of skilled labour (Bolton, 1970). These steps also helped the emergence of the merchant class from skilled labour that managed to survive the plague and it also helped improve the authority of monarchs. Since labour had been reduced in number, automation of certain actions and the development of machines such as the watermill and improved mining technology had to be created to meet the demands of the times (Hale et. al., 1965). In political terms, the history of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages from 1300 to 1500 comes with two important incidents near the same turns of the centuries. The death of Alexander III in 1286 and the death of James IV in 1513 created struggles within Scotland for power and even allowed the neighbouring countries to look at Scotland as an easy target for acquisition. However, it was the House of Stuart who brought stability to the country and took it out of the Middle Ages through to the renaissance period (Boardman, 2006). Even in the rural areas, the people formed a sense of Scottish identity which was firmly in place by the 1500s. The creation of this identity and the establishment of a social order which could take Scotland safely through the medieval era depended on the wars of independence which the Scots had amongst themselves and with England which wanted to annex them. Even though clans and links between the clans remained important for the Scots, the idea of a Scottish national identity saved the Scots from being quickly annexed by England as Ireland and Wales had been by the monarchs of the island country (Boardman, 2006). Most importantly perhaps, even though life for the medieval rural dweller of Scotland was short and harsh, the Scotsmen did not engage in peasant revolts or try to overthrow their kings as the British had done and the credit to that can be given to the clan system where allegiances between clansmen created very strong bonds of individuals. The class warfare and conflict between various groups which was often seen in the rest of Europe was largely missing from Scotland and it certainly appears that the Scots displayed more patience than their other European counterparts (Hale et. al., 1965). Conclusion Life was indeed short and harsh but it seems that the Scots made the best of a bad thing by adapting their society to match the needs of the time. Wars, political infighting, economic issues, agricultural issues as well as the plague may have challenged the Scots and even brought them to the brink of annihilation, yet they managed to come back from the edge every time it seemed that they would tup over into the abyss. The Black Death and the age defined by the Black Death certainly would have been a horrible time to live through but those who did manage to survive were offered a chance to better their social and economic status which was not available to those who had come before them. The Black Death changed a lot of things for the worst but it also managed to bring about fundamental changes in the way Scottish society operated and that certainly changed the course of Scottish history for many centuries to come. Word Count: 1,308 Works Cited Boardman, S. 2006, The First Stewart Dynasty: Scotland, 1371-1488. Edinburgh University Press Bolton, W. 1970, The Middle Ages, University of Michigan Hale, J. et. al. 1965, Europe in the Late Middle Ages, Northwestern University Press Read More