How Did Black Death Change Western European Civilization

561 Words3 Pages
There were a lot of events that changed Western European civilization. Some brought life while others brought death to society. The rise of towns brought life into Western European civilization. Statuses, laws, and rules were brought in with the rise of towns. For instance the laws became prevalent in the Magna Carta. Other rules and laws sprung up as towns were rising; charters and royal charters became a big deal as society moved to what it was becoming. These towns became bustling cities rich with cultures and merchants. God’s servants, such as bishops and priests, were very high in status. But with all this new life, death soon followed. Something occurred that would change Western European life more than even the rise of towns; this event was the Black Death. The Black Death destroyed everything that was created through the rise of towns. This plague brought such a fear into Western society that no one followed the…show more content…
For example the regulations created by charters and royal charters. One example is Ipswich Town Charter. This was a royal charter between the king and the boroughs and burgesses of Ipswich. The king granted the people of Ipswich to be “quit of toll, stallage, lastage, pontage, and all other customs through all land” The charters also gave the people liberties that nothing shall be taken from them “except according to the law of our free boroughs.” This charter shows how important laws were to the towns. The charter also states that the burgesses would elect two lawful men for chief justice and exchequer. Another example of laws and rules that were placed before the Black Death includes the Magna Carta. This Magna Carta had a lot of standards and rules, such as a widow will not be compelled to marry “so long as she wishes to live without a husband” and that a free man cannot be imprisoned or killed except “by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law of the

More about How Did Black Death Change Western European Civilization

Open Document