The Black Death

While the precise nature of the fallout in a typical medieval village can’t be known with precision, piecing together scraps of information from various places and sources can allow historian to construct a useful speculative example. Ziegler imagines a fictional town in the southern England village of Blakwater, a closely-knit community lying about eight miles southwest of the road connecting London and Winchester. This meant that traveling to London was essentially unthinkable and impossible for the average villager.

The poor section of town, Preston Stautney, was composed of about a dozen families, whose greater freedom and reduced responsibility made other villagers envious. The local parish vicar was a kind and considerate man. Architecturally, Blakwater was like any other small village of the time—its only remarkable construction was the stone church at the center of town. Though Blakwater was a few hours off the main road, many travelers would stop by the village. One of these informed the residents of a dreadful plague ravaging the land. Soon, the town priest read a letter from the Bishop, informing the villagers of the disease sweeping rapidly towards them; the townsfolk spent the next few weeks with the hope of averting the catastrophe.

Soon, however, another visitor brought grimmer news: Hundreds were dying in nearby Winchester, and Blakwater could be next.