Plague Wipes The Whiteboard Clean
Plague wiped out half the population across Europe and Asia 1347-1351. Nothing would ever be the same again.
(This is part two of two about the Black Death)
Medieval medical knowledge focused on balancing the humors, medical practice was mostly guesswork, and medical treatments ranged from ineffective to bizarre. People burned aromatic herbs to purify the air, based on the miasma theory that bad air spreads disease. Plague doctors were recognizable by their beaked masks stuffed full of flowers to mask the stench of the dying. It didn’t make much difference if one came to see you, as they might bleed a patient which only made things worse.
Back then, the people called it the Great Mortality. These days, social scientists call it a demographic catastrophe. The plague hit urban centers hardest because the dense populations sped disease transmission. Rural areas were slammed too, leaving depopulated farms and fallow fields that led to food shortages.
Fewer people meant fewer workers available. Medieval people didn’t have the words for supply and demand, but the price of labor skyrocketed. For the first time in the history of ever, peasants had leverage. Desperate for workers to tend their fields, landowners offered better wages and living conditions, disrupting centuries of sticking it to the poor.
In just a few years, the redistribution of wealth was dramatic. As whole families perished, survivors inherited their property concentrating wealth in fewer hands. And some of those hands weren’t used to holding money. Many peasants were able to purchase their own land, which was not what serfs were supposed to do. The basic job description was “work until you die” for most medieval serfs.
This rattling of the social structure and economic system shook up social and political upheaval. Laborers and peasants, emboldened by their newfound bargaining power, challenged the status quo. Revolts increased all over during the decades following the plague, like the Jacquerie in Paris in 1358, the Ciompi Revolt in Florence in 1378, and the English Peasants’ Revolt in London in 1381.
These uprisings were driven by frustrations over taxes, feudal obligations, and economic hardship. Of course they were brutally suppressed. The plague didn’t end the feudal system; it had gotten wobblier every decade of the 1300s. But the plague sure sped things up with this more fluid social structure and increased economic mobility. And the plague took kings and popes just like it did the lowliest serf:
The plague shook the religious foundations of medieval Europe. Many believed the Black Death to be divine punishment for humanity’s sins. The Church was unable to protect its flock or explain the cause of the plague. Some clergymen fled from infected areas or refused to administer last rites to plague victims. As an institution, The Church lost credibility.
People were disillusioned. Religious extremism flourished. Fringe movements went mainstream. Flagellants publicly whipped themselves to atone for humanity’s sins as they marched through medieval town squares.
Artists and writers grappled with the plague’s psychological toll through their work. Themes of mortality and the fragility of life were illustrated by the Danse Macabre, a visual representation of death leading people from all walks of life to their inevitable end. The message was “one day, you too, will follow.”
Literary works like Boccaccio’s Decameron and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales offered both satirical and contemplative takes on human resilience in the face of disaster. Artists channeled their pain into their art, and now high school students today must suffer through their own pain while slogging through the required reading list.
The Black Death was a catastrophe, but it was also a medieval reboot. Sure, losing half the population was a rough restart, but what followed was a major systems upgrade. Feudalism? On its way out. Renaissance? On the horizon. Out of the ashes rose a Europe ready to shake off its old ways and embrace something new. Once you’ve hit rock bottom, the only way to go is up.
One of the most traumatic events in corporate life today is the massive layoff. Maybe it’s due to changes in the market when your company was disrupted by a new technology or competitor. Maybe it was mismanagement or an epic product fail. Whatever the reasons, cuts will be made. Lots of cuts.
If the Grim Reaper visits you, you’ll be upset that the company tossed your corpse in the plague pit. Rightly so, but unlike your ancestors with the plague, you’ll live on and get another job. Like a friendly ghost, keep in touch with old work friends. And your old work foes? Just let ‘em go. No need to be a haunting ghost. Rise above it and just move on to whatever’s next.
And if you’re one of the “lucky” ones who’s left behind? Now that there’s nobody left who actually knows how this place works, you’ll have to scramble, working extra hours to fill in the gaps left behind after everyone left. But after some time, you’ll learn new skills, figure out how everything works, and things will settle into the new normal. Eventually it won’t be able to run without you, so congratulations, now you’ve got job security.
The initial phase will be a shock to the remaining employees at the company. So many friends won’t be there at the water cooler. Karaoke night won’t be as fun without last year’s office champion. But focus on the good times and see what new shoots grow from the ashes. This is a chance to grow. Somebody’s gotta fill the void. You’re needed. Lean into it.
And who knows, maybe some good will come of it. Especially if the layoff eliminates whoever keeps stealing food from the office fridge…
