By History And Culture Media

5/26/2024

The Great European Famine (1315–1317): The Medieval Catastrophe That Changed Europe

The Great European Famine of 1315–1317 was one of the deadliest humanitarian disasters of the Middle Ages. Triggered by relentless rain, crop failure, disease, and economic collapse, the famine devastated medieval Europe and killed millions of people. Historians consider the Great Famine of 1315–1317 the first major crisis of the fourteenth century and a turning point in European history.

Before the famine, medieval Europe had experienced centuries of population growth and agricultural expansion. But by the early 1300s, Europe’s resources were stretched to the limit. When catastrophic weather struck in 1315, the fragile medieval food system collapsed. The result was mass starvation, soaring food prices, disease outbreaks, violence, and widespread social breakdown.

The Great European Famine weakened Europe decades before the arrival of the Black Death, exposing the vulnerability of medieval society to climate change, food shortages, and political instability. Its consequences reshaped Europe economically, politically, and psychologically for generations.

What Was the Great European Famine?

The Great European Famine was a widespread famine that affected much of Northern Europe between 1315 and 1317, with some regions suffering until 1322. The crisis struck areas including:

• England

• France

• Germany

• Scandinavia

• The Low Countries

• Parts of Poland and the Baltic region (Wikipedia)

The famine began after years of excessive rain and colder temperatures destroyed harvests across Europe. Medieval farming systems lacked the technology and reserves necessary to withstand repeated crop failures.

According to historical estimates, between 5% and 15% of the population in some regions died from starvation or famine-related disease. (Wikipedia)

The famine marked the end of the prosperous Medieval Warm Period and coincided with the beginning of the Little Ice Age, a cooler climatic era that affected Europe for centuries. (Wikipedia)

Europe Before the Great Famine

To understand the severity of the Great European Famine, it is important to examine conditions in medieval Europe before 1315.

From roughly 1000 to 1300, Europe experienced:

• Rapid population growth

• Expansion of farmland

• Increased agricultural production

• Economic growth

• Urban development

This period of prosperity allowed Europe’s population to rise dramatically. However, by the early fourteenth century, Europe had become dangerously overcrowded relative to its agricultural capacity. (Wikipedia)

Crop yields were already declining before the famine began. Medieval agriculture remained primitive by modern standards. Wheat yields often produced only two or three grains for every grain planted, leaving little margin for disaster. (Wikipedia)

As population pressures increased, many peasants lived near starvation even during normal years.

The Causes of the Great European Famine

1. Extreme Weather and Climate Change

The immediate cause of the famine was catastrophic weather.

Beginning in the spring of 1315, unusually heavy rains struck Northern Europe. Cold temperatures and endless storms prevented grain from ripening in the fields. The wet weather continued throughout 1315 and 1316. (Wikipedia)

Fields became flooded and impossible to plow. Harvested grain rotted before it could be stored properly. Hay could not dry, leaving livestock without winter fodder.

Historians now associate these conditions with the transition into the Little Ice Age, a long-term cooling period that damaged European agriculture for centuries. (Smith College Science)

A 2020 climate study concluded that the famine years were among the wettest in centuries. (State of the Planet)

2. Overpopulation

Europe’s population had expanded rapidly during the High Middle Ages.

By 1300, much of Europe lacked reserve farmland or food supplies. Even minor harvest failures could trigger local shortages. The repeated crop failures of 1315–1317 overwhelmed the medieval economy entirely. (Wikipedia)

Many peasants possessed no emergency reserves and depended entirely on annual harvests for survival.

3. Livestock Disease

The famine worsened when disease spread among cattle and sheep.

A devastating outbreak known as the Great Bovine Pestilence killed enormous numbers of livestock during the crisis. Historians estimate cattle populations in some regions declined by as much as 80%. (Wikipedia)

Without livestock:

• Milk supplies collapsed

• Meat became scarce

• Fields could not be plowed efficiently

• Transportation systems weakened

This intensified food shortages across Europe.

Life During the Great Famine

The suffering during the Great European Famine was immense.

Food prices rose dramatically as supplies disappeared. In England, grain prices doubled within months. In parts of France, wheat prices rose by over 300%. (Wikipedia)

People resorted to desperate survival measures:

• Eating roots and bark

• Slaughtering draft animals

• Consuming seed grain

• Abandoning children

• Theft and violence

Chroniclers recorded horrifying scenes of starvation throughout Europe.

Primary Source: Medieval Chronicler on the Famine

A contemporary English chronicle described the conditions:

“Meat and eggs began to run out.”

The chronicler also noted that animals died from disease while grain prices became impossibly high. (UNC Greensboro)

Another medieval source from Bristol recorded that desperate people consumed horse meat and dogs during the famine. (Wikipedia)

Some chroniclers even reported incidents of cannibalism, though historians debate how widespread such cases truly were.

The Failure of Medieval Governments

The Great European Famine exposed the weakness of medieval governments.

Kings and nobles possessed limited ability to transport food, regulate markets, or provide relief during widespread crop failure. Roads were poor, trade networks were fragile, and preservation methods remained primitive.

Even the wealthy suffered shortages.

Primary Source: Edward II and the Bread Shortage

One chronicle reported that King Edward II of England stopped at St. Albans in 1315 and could not find bread for himself or his entourage. (Wikipedia)

This was extraordinary because medieval kings normally had access to vast resources.

Governments attempted measures such as:

• Price controls

• Export bans

• Emergency grain purchases

However, these efforts proved insufficient against the scale of the disaster.

The inability of rulers to protect their populations damaged confidence in medieval institutions and increased social unrest. (Wikipedia)

Disease and Death

Starvation weakened immune systems across Europe, allowing disease to spread rapidly.

Victims commonly died from:

• Pneumonia

• Tuberculosis

• Bronchitis

• Dysentery

The prolonged nature of the famine made it especially deadly. Unlike the later Black Death, which struck quickly, the famine persisted for years. (Wikipedia)

Modern historians estimate mortality rates of roughly:

• 10–15% in parts of England

• Around 10% in Northern France

• Significant losses across Germany and Scandinavia (Wikipedia)

The social effects were devastating.

Families sold land and possessions simply to survive. Crime increased sharply as starving people stole food wherever they could find it. Violence and instability became common across medieval Europe.

Religion and the Great European Famine

Medieval Europeans interpreted disasters through a religious lens.

Many believed the famine represented divine punishment for human sin. Religious processions, fasting, and prayers became common as people sought God’s mercy.

However, the prolonged suffering also weakened confidence in Church leadership. Some critics questioned why the Church seemed powerless against catastrophe.

The famine occurred during a period already marked by growing tensions within the Catholic Church, including the Avignon Papacy and later the Western Schism.

Some historians argue that the psychological trauma of the famine contributed to later religious unrest and reform movements. (historymedieval.com)

The Great Famine and the Black Death

The Great European Famine and the Black Death are closely connected in medieval history.

The famine weakened Europe economically and physically decades before the plague arrived in 1347. Malnutrition, poverty, and social instability made populations more vulnerable to disease.

Historian William Rosen described the famine as a precursor to the disasters that defined the late Middle Ages.

The sequence of catastrophes included:

1. The Great Famine (1315–1317)

2. Economic crises

3. Political instability

4. The Hundred Years’ War

5. The Black Death

Together, these events shattered medieval Europe’s earlier prosperity.

Economic Consequences of the Great European Famine

The famine transformed the medieval economy.

Rising Food Prices

Grain prices reached unprecedented levels across Europe. Salt prices also soared because wet weather disrupted salt production, making meat preservation difficult. (Wikipedia)

Labor Shortages

Population losses reduced the available workforce. This contributed to long-term economic changes after the famine.

Decline of Feudal Stability

The crisis weakened feudal structures because peasants increasingly struggled to meet obligations to landlords.

Agricultural Changes

Some marginal farmland was abandoned after the famine. European agriculture became more cautious and diversified in later decades.

Historians’ Views on the Great European Famine

Modern historians view the Great European Famine as one of the most important disasters of medieval Europe.

Historian Henry S. Lucas described it as the first major crisis of the fourteenth century. (Wikipedia)

William C. Jordan’s influential book The Great Famine: Northern Europe in the Early Fourteenth Century argues that the famine fundamentally altered European society and politics.

Recent climate research has strengthened understanding of how environmental change contributed to the disaster. Scholars increasingly connect the famine to broader climatic instability during the onset of the Little Ice Age. (State of the Planet)

Legacy of the Great European Famine

The Great European Famine permanently changed Europe.

Its long-term consequences included:

• Population decline

• Economic disruption

• Increased violence and crime

• Weakening trust in institutions

• Greater vulnerability to plague

• Social and political instability

The famine also demonstrated how climate change could devastate societies dependent on agriculture.

For medieval Europeans, the famine shattered confidence in the idea that prosperity and growth would continue indefinitely. It marked the beginning of what historians call the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages.

Conclusion

The Great European Famine of 1315–1317 was one of the most devastating catastrophes in medieval history. Triggered by relentless rain, crop failures, disease, and overpopulation, the famine killed millions and transformed European society.

The disaster exposed the fragility of medieval economies and governments while paving the way for even greater crises, including the Black Death. Its effects could be seen in politics, religion, economics, and everyday life for generations afterward.

Today, the Great European Famine remains a powerful historical example of how climate change, food insecurity, and weak institutions can combine to create widespread human catastrophe.

Sources

Primary Sources

• Medieval Sourcebook: “Famine of 1315” Fordham Medieval Sourcebook

• Bristol Chronicle Accounts of the Famine (Wikipedia)

• Contemporary English monastic chronicles quoted in medieval famine records (UNC Greensboro)

Secondary Sources

• Encyclopaedia Britannica

• Wikipedia – Great Famine of 1315–1317 (Wikipedia)

• Columbia Climate School Research (State of the Planet)

• Medievalists.net – Great Famine Studies (Medievalists.net)

• William C. Jordan, The Great Famine: Northern Europe in the Early Fourteenth Century

• Henry S. Lucas, “The Great European Famine of 1315–1317,” Speculum (1930) (Wikipedia)

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