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In 1348, the Black Death
struck the British Isles
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and spread like wildfire.
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It's believed to be the most
deadly pandemic in history.
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Before the Black Death,
the population of mainland Britain
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was around six million.
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Two years later, only an estimated
three million were left alive.
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Why did this disease claim so many,
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and how did the awful death
toll change Britain?
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In this series, I'm reinvestigating
some of the most dramatic
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and brutal chapters
in British history.
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It wasn't just one generation.
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It was three generations
losing their lives.
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Bam, bam, bam.
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These stories are part of our
national mythology,
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harbouring mysteries that have
intrigued us for centuries.
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It's chilling to think that this
could actually be evidence
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in a murder investigation.
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But with the passage of time,
we have new ways to unlock
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their secrets, using scientific
advances and a modern perspective.
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It's a horrible psychosexual
form of torture.
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Absolutely.
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I'm going to uncover
forgotten witnesses,
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re-examine old evidence,
and follow new clues
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to get closer to the truth.
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It is one of the great
British mysteries.
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It's one of those moments,
I'm afraid, for a historian,
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that makes the hairs stand up
on the back of your neck.
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Bubonic plague...
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..the pestilence,
the great mortality.
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There's lots of different names
for the Black Death,
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infamous for the horrible
boils or buboes
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that break out on people's skin.
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It struck Britain many times,
famously in London in 1665.
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But I'm interested in the first
and the worst outbreak in 1348,
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when something like half of the
population got wiped out.
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I want to investigate how the Black
Death transformed society.
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What happened to it during and after
this terrible medieval pandemic?
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But first I want to understand
what the Black Death was,
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and why the outbreak in 1348
was so deadly.
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After all this time, science
is still uncovering new evidence.
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Stored in this underground vault
in London are 600 skeletons.
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Each box contains the bones
of someone buried in a mass grave
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at the height of the plague,
outside the old city walls.
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This plague pit was unearthed
in the 1980s during building work
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and excavated by archaeologists.
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Strangely beautiful thing!
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It is.
His teeth, look at his teeth!
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I know, they're fantastic,
aren't they?
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Osteologist, Jelena Bekvalac,
is curator of this collection.
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These are definitely
Black Death victims.
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But for centuries,
science was uncertain
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what caused the disease.
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Then, in 2011, DNA taken from
the teeth of these skeletons
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confirmed what had actually
killed them.
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This has been a great mystery,
hasn't it, for 700 years at least?
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Yeah. We had these individuals,
and then scientists
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used the DNA analysis,
recreating and reconstructing
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an ancient genome.
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And by doing that, they were
able to identify
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that the actual causative agent
was a bacteria
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and it was Yersinia pestis.
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What did you say? Yersinia pestis.
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Yersinia pestis. Yes.
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And why was this particular
bacterium quite so dangerous?
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This one was particularly virulent
to us because we, as a population
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at that time, had never been exposed
to that bacteria.
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So there was no immunity within us.
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And therefore, when you're exposed
to something that's new,
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it really then impacts
on to the population.
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And subsequently, after that episode
of the Black Death that we know
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killed so many people, there were
other outbreaks,
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but it didn't have that same impact.
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Because of herd immunity?
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Because of herd immunity, yes.
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So you're building up that lovely
sort of immunity to it.
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We all know what herd immunity
is now! Yeah, yes.
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So just at the moment he was going
into the plague pit to be buried,
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I imagine that he would have had big
swelling buboes on him,
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is that right?
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Yes, that would be where you get
the swellings in the armpits
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and the groins.
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What is that exactly,
these swellings?
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What, is there something
inside them?
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Well, there'd be nasty dead
cells and pus and poison.
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So very uncomfortable, be very sore.
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Probably have horrible headaches,
feel very sort of fatigued.
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You might feel sick, sweats.
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You'd feel really very, very unwell
and under the weather.
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And where did this particular
bacterium come from?
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Well, they believe that it probably
came from Central Asia
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and then it would travel across,
because also, we have to remember
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at this time that you've got trade
routes and people are moving around.
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So you've got quite a lot
of movement of people.
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So it probably started from there.
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Emerging global trade routes
in the 14th century exposed Britain
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to a deadly new disease.
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It had raged through Asia
and Europe, wiping out millions
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before arriving on these shores.
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Catch it and you could be dead
in days, even hours.
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So how did this bacterium
spread so aggressively
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and kill so many people?
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There were some images of life
in London that got burnt
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into my mind at an early age,
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and this is one of them.
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It's a scene from the kiddie
version of the story
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of Dick Whittington and his Cat.
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Dick Whittington, being a lad
who came to London to seek
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his fortune, but who had to sleep
in a horrible attic
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infested with rats.
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Here they all are,
running over his bed,
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climbing out of the window.
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And I'm pretty sure it's images
like this, if not this very one,
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that made a link in my mind
between the spread
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of the plague and rodents.
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But I agree this isn't exactly solid
scientific or historical evidence.
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I'm going to have to do better
than the Ladybird version.
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What can the latest science
tell me about how this disease
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might have spread?
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A study from 2018 argues that the
Black Death was also spread
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by human fleas and lice,
infecting people
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as they bit into their flesh.
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One of the researchers was
epidemiologist Dr Fabienne Krauer.
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She's in Switzerland, so this
will be an online consultation.
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So Fabienne is in my waiting room.
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Let me admit her.
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There she is, Fabienne!
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So there's these human fleas
that can take the plague
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from one human being to another
human being?
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Yes, infestation of lice and fleas
was very common in 14th century.
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Would that be through people's
bedding or their clothes,
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or how can you see that working?
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Yeah, so body lice and human fleas,
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they typically live in clothes,
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in the seams
or in the foldings of clothes.
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So we know that in the 14th century,
the handing down of clothes,
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that was a real thing.
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And we think that this is how
the plague could have spread,
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because people were passing
on clothes of someone
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who died of plague, and then they
got themselves infected.
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This is so heartbreaking because
people wouldn't
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have known, would they?
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They wouldn't have known that this
is how they were actually
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killing their friends and relatives.
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No, people had no idea.
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But there are also other forms of
plague, such as pneumonic plague,
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which is transmitted
directly between people,
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through coughing, through
infectious droplets...
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Sorry, sorry, sorry, Fabienne,
just pause a second.
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This is all so new to me, you're
taking me into new ground here.
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Did you call it the pneumonic
version of the disease,
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like pneumonia?
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Yes, exactly.
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So pneumonia happens when someone
who has a plague infection,
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when these people cough,
they expel infectious droplets.
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And these can be inhaled by other
people which cause
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primary pneumonic plague
in these people.
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And that's a very fatal
and rapidly progressing disease.
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So it spreads, it can also spread
through the air from someone
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you're living with, someone
you're in the same room as,
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and it's to do with breathing
the disease, one person to another?
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Yes, it requires a rather
close contact.
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So it's usually people within the
same households that are infected,
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or people who care for someone
who is sick.
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That's a horrible idea, isn't it?
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Someone who's taking care
of somebody could be infecting
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themselves through their
compassion.
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Yeah, that's indeed horrible.
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And if someone had pneumonic
plague,
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then their fate
was basically sealed.
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So they were going to die,
for sure.
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And the fatality for pneumonic
plague was about 100%.
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100%?
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Yeah.
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So much new information here.
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I hadn't realised that there
were these different
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variants within plague.
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There's the bubonic plague
where you get the swellings
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in the armpits, but also
the pneumonic plague,
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which is lung to lung.
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And Fabienne's talking about so many
different vectors of transmission.
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We've got the rats and the fleas,
but also...
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..body lice
and the second-hand clothing,
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and just being together
in a small space.
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No-one was immune to this disease,
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rich or poor, young or old.
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The Black Death ripped through all
levels of medieval society.
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Now, what I do know about medieval
society is that at the top of it,
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we have the king.
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And then, below him
we have his knights.
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Here they are.
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These gentlemen give him
their loyalty,
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he gives them their land.
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But the vast majority,
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90% of the population,
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are, in fact, made up of all these
guys - the peasants.
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And most of them aren't free.
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They're tied to the land from which
they scratch a living,
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land that's owned by the local
lord of the manor.
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And the whole of this social
structure is reinforced
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by the church.
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Each Sunday, the priest
preaches to his parishioners
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that this is the way the world is.
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This is God's grand design.
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How did the Black Death transform
this rigidly structured society?
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I want to investigate the world
of the vast majority
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of its victims -
the rural peasants.
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But contemporary descriptions
of how they lived can be misleading.
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According to these images,
it rather looks lovely.
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Here's a happy agricultural
worker enjoying the spring air,
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sowing his seeds in the ground,
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surrounded by birds and leaves.
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00:13:00,883 --> 00:13:04,403
And here are some farmers bringing
in a wonderful crop of corn!
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00:13:04,403 --> 00:13:06,243
Looks blissful.
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00:13:07,403 --> 00:13:10,563
But these images are from
the Luttrell Psalter.
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It's a really fantastic illuminated
manuscript,
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commissioned by Luttrell
himself, a landowner.
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He wanted to make living
on the land look like
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it was a lovely thing to do.
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I'm not sure how reliable
these images are
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as a guide to everyday life.
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First hand accounts of 14th century
peasant life don't exist.
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Most people were illiterate.
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There are no gritty life
stories to consult.
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But they did pay taxes and rent
to their noble overlords.
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To understand how the majority
lived 700 years ago,
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you follow the money.
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In 14th-century England,
rural peasants were summoned
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00:14:07,003 --> 00:14:10,683
before a court of the manor
on which they lived and worked
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to pay rent and tax.
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These transactions were recorded
in court rolls
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and they covered every aspect
of peasant life.
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00:14:20,563 --> 00:14:23,683
Fines were paid for disobedience
of any kind,
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00:14:23,683 --> 00:14:26,123
like leaving the manor
without permission.
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00:14:27,203 --> 00:14:30,523
Tax was paid on crops grown
on the parcel of land
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you leased from the lord.
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When you died, your family
paid a death tax
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to inherit the lease
on that parcel of land.
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Stored in a temperature-controlled
vault in Suffolk Archives
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00:14:50,123 --> 00:14:54,043
are some of Europe's rarest
medieval manuscripts.
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They're the court rolls
of a small Suffolk village
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called Walsham le Willows.
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I do know my way to the Suffolk
Archives because I've been there
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before but the stuff I normally
look at is much later than this.
244
00:15:10,363 --> 00:15:15,163
These court rolls cover the period
before, during and after
245
00:15:15,163 --> 00:15:18,323
the Black Death struck England
in 1348.
246
00:15:19,643 --> 00:15:23,163
What can they tell me about
the peasantry and the impact
247
00:15:23,163 --> 00:15:25,403
of the pandemic on their lives?
248
00:15:28,203 --> 00:15:32,643
Oh, wow! Look, they're all out
on the table for me already.
249
00:15:34,363 --> 00:15:35,403
Oh!
250
00:15:36,483 --> 00:15:38,003
And aren't they fantastic?
251
00:15:39,843 --> 00:15:43,123
So we're looking at lots and lots
of very neat Latin here.
252
00:15:44,123 --> 00:15:48,003
It's so neat, it's got a sort of
Excel spreadsheet quality to it.
253
00:15:48,003 --> 00:15:51,323
But I know that buried
underneath that,
254
00:15:51,323 --> 00:15:53,003
are real human beings,
255
00:15:53,003 --> 00:15:55,843
even if they're treated here as...
256
00:15:57,443 --> 00:15:59,883
..units of taxation, almost.
257
00:16:01,603 --> 00:16:05,243
Now I know that this set of
documents is so important
258
00:16:05,243 --> 00:16:07,163
because it's so comprehensive,
it goes on
259
00:16:07,163 --> 00:16:09,483
for years and years and years
in the same village,
260
00:16:09,483 --> 00:16:11,803
and you don't normally get that...
261
00:16:13,163 --> 00:16:16,963
..that sort of longitudinal view
into the life of a community
262
00:16:16,963 --> 00:16:21,923
because one bit might survive,
another bit, not.
263
00:16:21,923 --> 00:16:26,083
So this is just remarkable,
the completeness of this record
264
00:16:26,083 --> 00:16:28,003
for 14th-century Walsham.
265
00:16:31,923 --> 00:16:34,883
The rolls are written
in medieval Latin.
266
00:16:36,123 --> 00:16:39,763
Fortunately for me, there's
an English translation.
267
00:16:39,763 --> 00:16:42,043
Hmm, I did study medieval Latin,
268
00:16:42,043 --> 00:16:43,963
but a long time ago
269
00:16:43,963 --> 00:16:47,283
and not very seriously.
270
00:16:47,283 --> 00:16:51,363
So I'm having to rely
on my translation here.
271
00:16:53,523 --> 00:16:58,763
The population of Walsham prior
to the Black Death was around 1,200.
272
00:16:58,763 --> 00:17:03,803
Plague strikes the village
in June 1349.
273
00:17:03,803 --> 00:17:07,483
The court session for that month
shows a huge spike
274
00:17:07,483 --> 00:17:09,483
in death tax being paid.
275
00:17:10,803 --> 00:17:14,123
And it was a very busy court
session
276
00:17:14,123 --> 00:17:17,403
because basically,
277
00:17:17,403 --> 00:17:21,003
103 people have all died.
278
00:17:21,003 --> 00:17:25,963
So that's in the last three weeks
in this particular sitting
279
00:17:25,963 --> 00:17:30,443
of the court, they had to deal
with the business of 103 deaths.
280
00:17:30,443 --> 00:17:31,843
It's extraordinary.
281
00:17:31,843 --> 00:17:34,963
And you can see that the clerk
has run out of room.
282
00:17:34,963 --> 00:17:37,323
He's gone down the first piece.
283
00:17:37,323 --> 00:17:40,843
He's had to attach another
one to keep going.
284
00:17:40,843 --> 00:17:42,723
And...
285
00:17:42,723 --> 00:17:45,483
..what's kind of chilling
is that he doesn't care
286
00:17:45,483 --> 00:17:47,803
that these people have died,
what he cares about
287
00:17:47,803 --> 00:17:52,883
is that there's business to be done
because every time you die,
288
00:17:52,883 --> 00:17:55,603
when you are a serf,
289
00:17:55,603 --> 00:17:59,363
your family has to pay a tax
290
00:17:59,363 --> 00:18:03,363
to the landlord, and that tax
is called a heriot.
291
00:18:04,363 --> 00:18:08,683
And in some cases,
the heriot is...
292
00:18:08,683 --> 00:18:09,723
..a horse.
293
00:18:11,083 --> 00:18:14,403
And in other cases, it's a ewe.
294
00:18:16,083 --> 00:18:19,923
So basically, when your father dies,
you have to give the landlord
295
00:18:19,923 --> 00:18:21,403
one of your animals.
296
00:18:24,163 --> 00:18:29,763
But these 103 deaths listed
in this court session
297
00:18:29,763 --> 00:18:33,923
are just the heads of families named
as land lease holders,
298
00:18:33,923 --> 00:18:36,923
younger men, women and children.
299
00:18:36,923 --> 00:18:40,683
A good 80% of the community
aren't recorded.
300
00:18:40,683 --> 00:18:44,763
They're not economically
relevant to the records.
301
00:18:44,763 --> 00:18:48,723
Factor them in, and the deaths must
number close to 600.
302
00:18:50,523 --> 00:18:54,483
So that's half of the village dying
of plague, matching estimates
303
00:18:54,483 --> 00:18:56,723
for the whole country.
304
00:18:56,723 --> 00:18:59,923
These roll are a micro study
for all of Britain
305
00:18:59,923 --> 00:19:01,763
during the pandemic.
306
00:19:04,363 --> 00:19:08,803
And here's a particularly
interesting family
307
00:19:08,803 --> 00:19:12,563
who are marked out with a cross
for some reason.
308
00:19:15,283 --> 00:19:18,483
I can make out their name
is Cranmer.
309
00:19:18,483 --> 00:19:20,283
There's William Cranmer,
310
00:19:20,283 --> 00:19:22,723
who's the patriarch of the family.
311
00:19:22,723 --> 00:19:24,883
He's the grandad.
312
00:19:24,883 --> 00:19:29,563
And he held a messuage...
313
00:19:29,563 --> 00:19:33,523
..that means a piece of property,
possibly with a house on it.
314
00:19:33,523 --> 00:19:37,043
And it says he also held
a tenement and...
315
00:19:38,043 --> 00:19:42,643
..he's died and he has to pay
a heriot, the death tax.
316
00:19:43,803 --> 00:19:47,963
Then his son and heir,
a second generation...
317
00:19:47,963 --> 00:19:54,363
..he dies, and then there's a third
generation who die.
318
00:19:54,363 --> 00:19:57,523
His son Robert dies,
and the heriot has to be paid.
319
00:19:57,523 --> 00:20:00,803
But this time they haven't got any
horses left, they have to pay a cow.
320
00:20:00,803 --> 00:20:03,523
It's a less good animal, but that's
because the lord's
321
00:20:03,523 --> 00:20:05,483
already got the two horses.
322
00:20:05,483 --> 00:20:09,803
But this particular family, the
Cranmers, they stand out here...
323
00:20:11,683 --> 00:20:14,483
..because of the awfulness
of what happened to them.
324
00:20:14,483 --> 00:20:18,243
It wasn't just one generation
or two generations.
325
00:20:18,243 --> 00:20:22,563
It was three generations losing
their lives, bam, bam, bam.
326
00:20:22,563 --> 00:20:26,283
All within the same few weeks,
in the same...
327
00:20:26,283 --> 00:20:28,043
..in the same village.
328
00:20:33,523 --> 00:20:38,203
The Cranmer clan seem like a typical
peasant family.
329
00:20:38,203 --> 00:20:41,603
I want to investigate their life
experiences to understand
330
00:20:41,603 --> 00:20:44,803
how Britain was changed
by the plague.
331
00:20:47,963 --> 00:20:50,243
Armed with my copy of the
court rolls,
332
00:20:50,243 --> 00:20:53,643
next stop for me
is Walsham le Willows.
333
00:20:55,683 --> 00:20:59,803
20 miles inland from the Suffolk
coast, the present day village
334
00:20:59,803 --> 00:21:04,163
of Walsham still clusters around
the local church, St Mary's,
335
00:21:04,163 --> 00:21:07,483
just as it did 700 years ago.
336
00:21:07,483 --> 00:21:11,883
So far, I've looked at Walsham
during the time plague struck
337
00:21:11,883 --> 00:21:15,883
the village, but now I'm going
to wind the clock back to the years
338
00:21:15,883 --> 00:21:18,043
just before the Black Death.
339
00:21:18,043 --> 00:21:22,243
What was pre-pandemic life
like for the Cranmers?
340
00:21:22,243 --> 00:21:26,243
And is there any surviving
trace of them left today?
341
00:21:26,243 --> 00:21:28,723
I need some local knowledge.
342
00:21:28,723 --> 00:21:33,603
Oh, hello, Frances. It's Lucy here.
I am in Walsham.
343
00:21:33,603 --> 00:21:36,723
Left and look for the school.
344
00:21:38,523 --> 00:21:41,883
I'm off to see a lady
called Frances Jenner.
345
00:21:41,883 --> 00:21:45,403
She's the chairperson of
the local history society.
346
00:21:45,403 --> 00:21:48,163
And she's one of those
people who says,
347
00:21:48,163 --> 00:21:50,003
"Oh, I'm only an amateur historian."
348
00:21:50,003 --> 00:21:53,683
But actually, I suspect
that she knows everything
349
00:21:53,683 --> 00:21:55,283
that there is to know.
350
00:21:59,883 --> 00:22:04,363
Like me, Frances is fascinated by
the court rolls of Walsham,
351
00:22:04,363 --> 00:22:08,083
and she's been studying
them for years.
352
00:22:08,083 --> 00:22:10,723
It was pretty agricultural
in the 14th century.
353
00:22:10,723 --> 00:22:13,003
Is it still quite agricultural
around here?
354
00:22:13,003 --> 00:22:17,203
It is, very much so,
still a very rural community.
355
00:22:17,203 --> 00:22:19,123
So where are you bringing
me, Frances?
356
00:22:19,123 --> 00:22:21,283
I'm bringing you to Cranmer farm.
357
00:22:21,283 --> 00:22:23,003
Oh, my goodness. Yes.
358
00:22:23,003 --> 00:22:25,203
Cranmer farm, still got their
name on it.
359
00:22:25,203 --> 00:22:26,723
It does, yes.
360
00:22:26,723 --> 00:22:29,083
700 years later! It does, yes.
361
00:22:29,083 --> 00:22:30,963
Though it's been rebuilt since?
362
00:22:30,963 --> 00:22:32,923
It has. It's been rebuilt later.
363
00:22:32,923 --> 00:22:36,563
But they would have had a dwelling
here and they farmed
364
00:22:36,563 --> 00:22:37,963
the lands around here.
365
00:22:37,963 --> 00:22:40,483
Do you think they farmed
in this very field, then?
366
00:22:40,483 --> 00:22:42,683
We're totally in their neck
of the woods?
367
00:22:42,683 --> 00:22:45,483
It's quite possible that they did,
we are actually walking on
368
00:22:45,483 --> 00:22:48,523
where they farmed and lived.
Excellent.
369
00:22:48,523 --> 00:22:52,083
And having spent a lot of time
combing through the court rolls,
370
00:22:52,083 --> 00:22:54,643
have you developed in your mind,
371
00:22:54,643 --> 00:22:58,523
the character of this
William Cranmer, the eldest one,
372
00:22:58,523 --> 00:23:00,323
the grandad of the family?
373
00:23:00,323 --> 00:23:03,843
I have, because actually,
if you look at him, he actually
374
00:23:03,843 --> 00:23:06,843
has more entries than anybody else.
375
00:23:06,843 --> 00:23:11,123
And there are lots of instances
of him being fined for various
376
00:23:11,123 --> 00:23:14,803
breaches of grazing too many
sheep on the verges
377
00:23:14,803 --> 00:23:16,443
and all sorts of things.
378
00:23:16,443 --> 00:23:20,163
And I just get the impression that
he was a bit of a one, really.
379
00:23:20,163 --> 00:23:22,083
Oh, really? Yeah, I do.
A sharp operator?
380
00:23:22,083 --> 00:23:24,083
I think so. Yes, definitely.
381
00:23:24,083 --> 00:23:26,203
That's what we would call
him today. Yes.
382
00:23:26,203 --> 00:23:30,563
And how hard or difficult
do you think the lives
383
00:23:30,563 --> 00:23:33,563
of the Cranmers were, living here?
384
00:23:33,563 --> 00:23:37,963
Prior to the Black Death,
there'd been seven years of famine
385
00:23:37,963 --> 00:23:42,563
due to the unseasonably
odd weather conditions -
386
00:23:42,563 --> 00:23:45,403
excessive rains, storms.
387
00:23:45,403 --> 00:23:49,763
And we have to also remember
that in those days,
388
00:23:49,763 --> 00:23:53,123
the wheat wasn't the wheat
that we know today,
389
00:23:53,123 --> 00:23:55,003
it was really tall.
390
00:23:55,003 --> 00:23:58,843
So storms would basically
flatten it,
391
00:23:58,843 --> 00:24:01,243
and then it would just rot
in the fields.
392
00:24:01,243 --> 00:24:03,123
So that would mean hardship.
393
00:24:03,123 --> 00:24:06,283
That would mean no food,
no, no crops to sell.
394
00:24:06,283 --> 00:24:10,203
They would still have to pay
the taxes to the lord of the manor.
395
00:24:10,203 --> 00:24:13,723
So they were being squeezed
basically from both sides.
396
00:24:13,723 --> 00:24:16,963
They weren't actually making
any money, but they still
397
00:24:16,963 --> 00:24:19,003
had to pay their taxes.
398
00:24:19,003 --> 00:24:22,203
So life would have been hard,
they would have been hungry,
399
00:24:22,203 --> 00:24:24,843
they would have been poor.
400
00:24:24,843 --> 00:24:27,523
Life, really, would have been
pretty miserable.
401
00:24:31,883 --> 00:24:36,123
In these years of pre-pandemic
hardship, old William Cranmer
402
00:24:36,123 --> 00:24:40,163
is frequently fined for keeping
more animals than permitted,
403
00:24:40,163 --> 00:24:42,603
for taking firewood
without permission,
404
00:24:42,603 --> 00:24:45,243
even for not informing
on a neighbour
405
00:24:45,243 --> 00:24:47,923
when THEY broke the rules.
406
00:24:47,923 --> 00:24:51,163
William might have a few acres
of land, but there's three
407
00:24:51,163 --> 00:24:55,963
generations - his son, his grandson
and their extended families -
408
00:24:55,963 --> 00:24:58,363
all living on it.
409
00:24:58,363 --> 00:25:03,723
Perhaps there's just too many
of them for the land to support.
410
00:25:03,723 --> 00:25:06,523
The Walsham court rolls
list numerous villagers
411
00:25:06,523 --> 00:25:08,683
in the same situation.
412
00:25:08,683 --> 00:25:13,003
While they struggle, they're also
duty-bound to work the lord's
413
00:25:13,003 --> 00:25:16,483
personal farmlands,
as well as their own.
414
00:25:16,483 --> 00:25:20,203
It's the same across swathes
of Britain.
415
00:25:20,203 --> 00:25:22,763
But as I work through
the court rolls,
416
00:25:22,763 --> 00:25:26,203
I come across another strain
on the Cranmer clan's
417
00:25:26,203 --> 00:25:28,243
hard-pressed resources.
418
00:25:31,043 --> 00:25:34,963
You don't often get women mentioned
in these court rolls
419
00:25:34,963 --> 00:25:37,363
because it's mainly about
the tenants.
420
00:25:37,363 --> 00:25:42,123
But if you travel back in time...
421
00:25:42,123 --> 00:25:45,923
..we seem to have a granddaughter...
422
00:25:45,923 --> 00:25:50,323
..of wily William Cranmer,
the grandfather of the family.
423
00:25:50,323 --> 00:25:52,123
Her name's Olivia.
424
00:25:52,123 --> 00:25:54,683
And the reason that she comes
up in the court records
425
00:25:54,683 --> 00:25:57,123
is because of a scandal.
426
00:25:57,123 --> 00:26:00,963
She's had to pay a child white,
which is a special fine,
427
00:26:00,963 --> 00:26:03,563
of two shillings and eight pence.
428
00:26:03,563 --> 00:26:08,043
And she's had to pay this because
she gave birth outside wedlock.
429
00:26:08,043 --> 00:26:10,803
She's had an illegitimate child.
430
00:26:16,963 --> 00:26:21,243
Having a child out of wedlock
in medieval society was condemned
431
00:26:21,243 --> 00:26:24,883
by the church,
but it wasn't uncommon.
432
00:26:24,883 --> 00:26:27,563
The problem was more practical.
433
00:26:27,563 --> 00:26:30,043
It was another mouth to feed.
434
00:26:30,043 --> 00:26:32,083
Who would provide?
435
00:26:32,083 --> 00:26:35,443
In Olivia's case,
it was swiftly solved.
436
00:26:35,443 --> 00:26:40,843
Shortly after she's fined, the court
rolls record Olivia marrying
437
00:26:40,843 --> 00:26:44,603
a Robert Hayes, a peasant
with his own land-holdings.
438
00:26:46,203 --> 00:26:48,163
Was Robert the father?
439
00:26:48,163 --> 00:26:50,323
Was this a forced marriage?
440
00:26:50,323 --> 00:26:52,563
The rolls make no mention.
441
00:26:54,363 --> 00:26:58,123
Now that I've learnt more about the
Cranmers, I'm intrigued to know
442
00:26:58,123 --> 00:27:00,843
how they, and so many like them,
443
00:27:00,843 --> 00:27:03,843
reacted as plague approached.
444
00:27:09,163 --> 00:27:14,003
In the summer of 1348, plague had
spread across the English Channel
445
00:27:14,003 --> 00:27:16,643
aboard trading ships.
446
00:27:16,643 --> 00:27:20,123
Contemporary accounts agree that
the first outbreaks in Britain
447
00:27:20,123 --> 00:27:22,643
were in Weymouth and Bristol.
448
00:27:22,643 --> 00:27:27,963
The disease caught fire and spread
from the coast into the countryside.
449
00:27:31,723 --> 00:27:34,723
Now Walsham might feel like it's
in the middle of nowhere,
450
00:27:34,723 --> 00:27:39,083
but it isn't, and it wasn't in the
14th century either.
451
00:27:39,083 --> 00:27:43,883
It was connected, as the world was,
through global shipping routes.
452
00:27:43,883 --> 00:27:49,083
Walsham is 100 miles away from
London, but crucially,
453
00:27:49,083 --> 00:27:53,443
it's only 26 miles, or a day's walk,
454
00:27:53,443 --> 00:27:56,643
from the international port
of Ipswich.
455
00:28:00,123 --> 00:28:03,363
Ipswich was just a day's
sail from France.
456
00:28:03,363 --> 00:28:08,563
News of the Black Death's horrors
found their way across the Channel.
457
00:28:08,563 --> 00:28:13,083
Most accounts coming from Europe
were utterly apocalyptic.
458
00:28:14,963 --> 00:28:17,923
And this sounds frankly implausible.
He describes here,
459
00:28:17,923 --> 00:28:22,723
"a rain of frogs, snakes,
lizards and scorpions,
460
00:28:22,723 --> 00:28:27,203
"thunderbolts and lightning"
- this sounds like crazy pub talk.
461
00:28:27,203 --> 00:28:31,683
But then, much more believably,
he talks about the plague
462
00:28:31,683 --> 00:28:36,163
travelling via Genoese ships
to Marseilles.
463
00:28:36,163 --> 00:28:40,723
And then to Avignon, where,
oh, golly, where half
464
00:28:40,723 --> 00:28:42,363
the people have died.
465
00:28:42,363 --> 00:28:47,403
So once it's got to France,
that's roughly only 24 hours'
466
00:28:47,403 --> 00:28:51,883
journey away from this village,
from this pub.
467
00:28:51,883 --> 00:28:55,203
You can imagine people here
laughing, maybe,
468
00:28:55,203 --> 00:28:57,163
speculating, maybe,
469
00:28:57,163 --> 00:29:00,003
really frightening themselves
as they talked about it
470
00:29:00,003 --> 00:29:01,563
on a Friday night.
471
00:29:06,883 --> 00:29:11,003
Accounts like this reached
Britain throughout 1348,
472
00:29:11,003 --> 00:29:14,163
well before the Black Death
struck Walsham.
473
00:29:14,163 --> 00:29:18,243
But is there evidence in the court
rolls that even rumours
474
00:29:18,243 --> 00:29:21,323
about plague changed
people's behaviour?
475
00:29:22,603 --> 00:29:25,123
Here's a meeting of the court
from the autumn
476
00:29:25,123 --> 00:29:28,603
before the Black Death,
and here we've got...
477
00:29:28,603 --> 00:29:30,683
..how many men? I think it's...
478
00:29:30,683 --> 00:29:33,203
Yes, it's 11 men in total
who are in trouble
479
00:29:33,203 --> 00:29:35,243
because they've not turned
up to work.
480
00:29:35,243 --> 00:29:38,563
They get fined for not doing
their duties,
481
00:29:38,563 --> 00:29:41,123
including William Cranmer, actually.
482
00:29:41,123 --> 00:29:44,923
What might they have been
doing instead?
483
00:29:44,923 --> 00:29:49,203
Well, this might be my imagination,
but just up here, we've got some
484
00:29:49,203 --> 00:29:52,083
other men who were fined,
who were punished for brewing
485
00:29:52,083 --> 00:29:55,323
and selling ale in breach
of the assize.
486
00:29:57,403 --> 00:30:00,203
I am tempted to think that these
11 men thought,
487
00:30:00,203 --> 00:30:03,443
right, the plague is coming,
we're with jolly well not
488
00:30:03,443 --> 00:30:06,363
going to go to work, we're going
to go to the pub instead.
489
00:30:06,363 --> 00:30:09,043
Let's make merry,
because tomorrow...
490
00:30:09,043 --> 00:30:11,043
..we die.
491
00:30:17,403 --> 00:30:22,763
It might have seemed to many
that doomsday was approaching.
492
00:30:22,763 --> 00:30:26,883
How did those in power try
to prepare the population
493
00:30:26,883 --> 00:30:28,683
for what was coming?
494
00:30:28,683 --> 00:30:31,203
What was their message
to the people?
495
00:30:38,763 --> 00:30:43,203
Belief in God and his will
was central to medieval life.
496
00:30:43,203 --> 00:30:46,323
Everyone attended church
to be guided in all things,
497
00:30:46,323 --> 00:30:50,763
both on Earth and spiritually,
by their local priest.
498
00:30:50,763 --> 00:30:54,123
With rumours of bodies
piling up in the streets
499
00:30:54,123 --> 00:30:58,083
in the West Country,
an official Black Death briefing
500
00:30:58,083 --> 00:31:01,963
was made from church pulpits
in the autumn of 1348.
501
00:31:01,963 --> 00:31:06,923
The king, Edward III, tells the
Archbishop of Canterbury
502
00:31:06,923 --> 00:31:10,443
to write a letter with instructions
for the people.
503
00:31:10,443 --> 00:31:14,523
It's to be read out from the pulpit
across the country.
504
00:31:14,523 --> 00:31:18,603
And historians usually called
this letter after its first word,
505
00:31:18,603 --> 00:31:22,443
which is, "Terribilis..."
506
00:31:22,443 --> 00:31:24,043
..terrible.
507
00:31:27,483 --> 00:31:32,483
This was a mass communication,
filtered down from king...
508
00:31:32,483 --> 00:31:36,683
..to bishop, to priest, to peasant.
509
00:31:37,843 --> 00:31:41,843
"Terrible is God towards
the sons of men.
510
00:31:43,003 --> 00:31:45,683
"He allows plagues to arise,
511
00:31:45,683 --> 00:31:50,603
"to torment men
and drive out their sins.
512
00:31:50,603 --> 00:31:55,003
"It is now to be feared that this
kingdom is to be oppressed
513
00:31:55,003 --> 00:31:59,283
"by the pestilence and wretched
mortalities which have flared
514
00:31:59,283 --> 00:32:00,723
"up in other regions."
515
00:32:03,243 --> 00:32:06,163
The message is,
it's real, it's here,
516
00:32:06,163 --> 00:32:10,803
it's coming to get us, and it's
coming because you've all sinned.
517
00:32:14,243 --> 00:32:17,283
This announcement affected everyone.
518
00:32:17,283 --> 00:32:19,283
Everyone sinned!
519
00:32:19,283 --> 00:32:22,003
Breaking any of the
Ten Commandments was a sin.
520
00:32:22,003 --> 00:32:24,643
But the medieval church was
particularly obsessed
521
00:32:24,643 --> 00:32:26,203
with fornication.
522
00:32:28,123 --> 00:32:31,523
Olivia Cranmer was fined
and would have served penance
523
00:32:31,523 --> 00:32:34,243
for having a child out of wedlock.
524
00:32:34,243 --> 00:32:38,083
There were tens of thousands
like her across the country.
525
00:32:38,083 --> 00:32:40,323
They were an easy target.
526
00:32:40,323 --> 00:32:45,283
Some clergy were quick to blame
plague on immoral women
527
00:32:45,283 --> 00:32:47,843
and their choice of dress.
528
00:32:47,843 --> 00:32:52,443
OK, here we've got some very
naughty, sexy, 14th-century ladies
529
00:32:52,443 --> 00:32:55,683
who have got slashes
in their dresses, revealing
530
00:32:55,683 --> 00:32:59,243
their figures and what they've
got on underneath.
531
00:32:59,243 --> 00:33:03,803
And this lady here, her robe
has got great big holes,
532
00:33:03,803 --> 00:33:08,403
enormous armholes in it, so you can
see her shape through it.
533
00:33:08,403 --> 00:33:12,283
And the name of these holes
is brilliant -
534
00:33:12,283 --> 00:33:15,923
they were known
as windows into hell!
535
00:33:24,123 --> 00:33:28,523
The church maintains that only
prayer could quell God's wrath
536
00:33:28,523 --> 00:33:30,923
and stop the pestilence.
537
00:33:30,923 --> 00:33:34,683
But no amount of praying
could halt the progress
538
00:33:34,683 --> 00:33:36,603
of this terrible disease.
539
00:33:38,683 --> 00:33:43,963
By November 1348, the Black Death
had spread eastward.
540
00:33:43,963 --> 00:33:49,603
Accounts claim that in Bristol,
only one in ten survived.
541
00:33:49,603 --> 00:33:53,563
Plague had struck London
and broken out in York.
542
00:33:53,563 --> 00:33:56,403
Everywhere, communities
were decimated.
543
00:33:58,203 --> 00:34:01,083
Church cemeteries overflowed.
544
00:34:01,083 --> 00:34:04,483
Across the country,
plague pits were dug.
545
00:34:13,603 --> 00:34:17,163
This is just the most
heartbreaking image.
546
00:34:17,163 --> 00:34:21,963
It's one of the very earliest
depictions, it's from 1349,
547
00:34:21,963 --> 00:34:26,923
of a plague pit,
here are bodies being buried.
548
00:34:26,923 --> 00:34:32,283
Look at the grief on the face
of this man here, with the spade.
549
00:34:32,283 --> 00:34:37,443
And here are crowds of new
coffins being brought.
550
00:34:38,763 --> 00:34:42,723
And this would have been the scene
all over Britain,
551
00:34:42,723 --> 00:34:45,403
all over Europe,
where the plague spread.
552
00:34:46,523 --> 00:34:50,923
And to these poor people, it must
have felt like the end of the world.
553
00:34:56,043 --> 00:35:00,403
Getting a decent burial was a hugely
important medieval ritual.
554
00:35:00,403 --> 00:35:05,963
So plague pits were a shocking
and sudden change in this society.
555
00:35:05,963 --> 00:35:10,003
With people surrounded
by so much death,
556
00:35:10,003 --> 00:35:13,563
surely their spiritual beliefs
were shaken?
557
00:35:13,563 --> 00:35:16,603
How did the church cope
during the crisis?
558
00:35:18,203 --> 00:35:22,763
Medieval historian Dr Claire Kennan
specialises in the impact
559
00:35:22,763 --> 00:35:28,163
of the Black Death on faith
and the church in Britain.
560
00:35:28,163 --> 00:35:31,763
So, Claire, explain this to me.
People are suffering,
561
00:35:31,763 --> 00:35:34,883
they're praying,
the prayer isn't working,
562
00:35:34,883 --> 00:35:38,243
but they still go on doing it.
Why is that?
563
00:35:38,243 --> 00:35:41,683
So in the 14th century,
everyone's very concerned
564
00:35:41,683 --> 00:35:43,523
with the health of their souls.
565
00:35:43,523 --> 00:35:47,363
And the belief is that when you die,
you will inevitably spend some time
566
00:35:47,363 --> 00:35:50,483
in purgatory, which really isn't
a very nice place.
567
00:35:50,483 --> 00:35:53,523
So what people want to do is really
lessen the amount of time
568
00:35:53,523 --> 00:35:56,523
they're going to spend there,
and they do that through prayer,
569
00:35:56,523 --> 00:36:00,483
through acts of repentance, and
through giving money to the church.
570
00:36:00,483 --> 00:36:04,163
So people are saying prayers, not
necessarily to save their life,
571
00:36:04,163 --> 00:36:06,083
but to have a better death?
572
00:36:06,083 --> 00:36:07,643
Exactly.
573
00:36:07,643 --> 00:36:10,803
When the Black Death happens,
then, how's the church
574
00:36:10,803 --> 00:36:12,883
going to respond,
what are they going to do?
575
00:36:12,883 --> 00:36:16,523
Obviously, you've got a clergy
who are effectively
576
00:36:16,523 --> 00:36:18,723
at the front line of this disease.
577
00:36:18,723 --> 00:36:21,683
They are working with people
who are dying from a very,
578
00:36:21,683 --> 00:36:23,523
very transmissible illness.
579
00:36:23,523 --> 00:36:25,363
They're getting in very
close contact.
580
00:36:25,363 --> 00:36:28,843
They're leaning in to listen
to that last whispered confession.
581
00:36:28,843 --> 00:36:32,283
And so we do see a huge
number of clergy dying,
582
00:36:32,283 --> 00:36:34,563
approximately 50%, generally.
583
00:36:34,563 --> 00:36:37,163
But in some places
this is much higher.
584
00:36:37,163 --> 00:36:39,803
And of course, this leads
to extreme shortages.
585
00:36:39,803 --> 00:36:42,283
So there's a big problem
here for the church.
586
00:36:42,283 --> 00:36:44,243
How are they going to solve it?
587
00:36:44,243 --> 00:36:48,003
The church brings in some really
interesting emergency measures.
588
00:36:48,003 --> 00:36:51,883
What I've got here is actually
a papal license, which is granted
589
00:36:51,883 --> 00:36:56,123
to the Archbishop of York so that
he can recruit more priests.
590
00:36:56,123 --> 00:36:59,283
And it says, "Because of
the mortality from plague,
591
00:36:59,283 --> 00:37:01,923
"which overshadows your province
at this time,
592
00:37:01,923 --> 00:37:05,963
"not enough priests can be found
for the cure and rule of souls,
593
00:37:05,963 --> 00:37:08,163
"or to administer the sacraments."
594
00:37:08,163 --> 00:37:12,203
And this is actually a list
of novices who are currently
595
00:37:12,203 --> 00:37:14,523
being pushed through the
system, if you will. Oh!
596
00:37:14,523 --> 00:37:16,963
So it's sort of like sending through
the medical students
597
00:37:16,963 --> 00:37:18,403
to do the work of doctors?
598
00:37:18,403 --> 00:37:22,523
Exactly, and what happens is that
we actually get quite a lot
599
00:37:22,523 --> 00:37:25,163
of complaints about these
new priests.
600
00:37:25,163 --> 00:37:28,363
One chronicler even says quite
scathingly that they're no
601
00:37:28,363 --> 00:37:30,083
better than laymen.
602
00:37:30,083 --> 00:37:33,283
But it's important to remember that
this isn't everyone's experience.
603
00:37:33,283 --> 00:37:37,043
And actually what we see during
and after the Black Death
604
00:37:37,043 --> 00:37:40,723
is people turning to the church,
possibly more than before.
605
00:37:40,723 --> 00:37:44,123
So we have lots of people
going on pilgrimage to earn,
606
00:37:44,123 --> 00:37:47,963
what I like to think of as brownie
points, so that when they do die,
607
00:37:47,963 --> 00:37:50,083
they're not in purgatory
for too long.
608
00:37:51,963 --> 00:37:54,923
So the pandemic didn't shatter
religious faith,
609
00:37:54,923 --> 00:37:56,843
it strengthened it.
610
00:38:01,123 --> 00:38:04,763
Pilgrimage, especially,
was an act of devotion,
611
00:38:04,763 --> 00:38:07,763
involving a long journey on foot.
612
00:38:07,763 --> 00:38:10,363
It was one of the few things
a peasant was permitted
613
00:38:10,363 --> 00:38:12,043
to leave their manor for.
614
00:38:12,043 --> 00:38:15,523
And during the Black Death,
thousands trekked to sacred
615
00:38:15,523 --> 00:38:17,403
sites across Britain.
616
00:38:18,603 --> 00:38:22,563
Perhaps the most sacred
of all was the awe-inspiring
617
00:38:22,563 --> 00:38:24,643
Canterbury Cathedral.
618
00:38:27,643 --> 00:38:29,923
It's utterly overwhelming in here.
619
00:38:29,923 --> 00:38:31,403
It's a...
620
00:38:31,403 --> 00:38:35,243
..it's a splendid visual feast,
621
00:38:35,243 --> 00:38:38,043
even for a 21st-century person!
622
00:38:39,723 --> 00:38:44,443
Imagine what it would have been like
coming here 700 years ago,
623
00:38:44,443 --> 00:38:46,643
maybe from a rural village,
624
00:38:46,643 --> 00:38:50,483
where your church was much
smaller than this.
625
00:38:50,483 --> 00:38:52,843
Must have blown your mind.
626
00:38:55,563 --> 00:38:59,243
Canterbury offered more than
just salvation of the soul.
627
00:38:59,243 --> 00:39:02,003
It promised a cure for the plague.
628
00:39:02,003 --> 00:39:09,243
Pilgrims coming here in 1348 would
have seen this stained glass window.
629
00:39:09,243 --> 00:39:12,883
The peasant classes might have been
illiterate, but they could read
630
00:39:12,883 --> 00:39:15,443
the story in this window's pictures.
631
00:39:16,803 --> 00:39:20,283
It tells of a boy
struck down by disease.
632
00:39:20,283 --> 00:39:22,483
He dies.
633
00:39:22,483 --> 00:39:25,003
But when he drinks holy water
from Canterbury,
634
00:39:25,003 --> 00:39:27,923
he's miraculously revived.
635
00:39:29,203 --> 00:39:34,083
The water itself is holy
because it comes from Canterbury,
636
00:39:34,083 --> 00:39:38,243
but it's also supposed to contain
diluted drops of the blood
637
00:39:38,243 --> 00:39:41,603
of St Thomas, so that's what's
done the business.
638
00:39:41,603 --> 00:39:45,443
It's like a fantastic
advertisement, really.
639
00:39:45,443 --> 00:39:49,643
"Our holy water will bring
your dead son back to life."
640
00:39:55,043 --> 00:40:00,203
A booming trade grew around
pilgrimages during the Black Death.
641
00:40:00,203 --> 00:40:04,723
Peasants would have been able to buy
a flask of holy water to take home.
642
00:40:04,723 --> 00:40:08,083
They were sold for a few
pence in vast quantities
643
00:40:08,083 --> 00:40:10,763
in the cathedral grounds.
644
00:40:10,763 --> 00:40:14,283
A collection of these flasks,
or ampoules, as they're called,
645
00:40:14,283 --> 00:40:17,043
is housed in the local museum.
646
00:40:20,563 --> 00:40:23,723
This is the most fabulous
little thing.
647
00:40:23,723 --> 00:40:28,963
It's so collectable because there's
the tiny little saint there.
648
00:40:28,963 --> 00:40:35,203
It's like a little toy, but it also
has a totally serious purpose.
649
00:40:35,203 --> 00:40:39,003
You would put your holy water
inside your tiny flask.
650
00:40:39,003 --> 00:40:44,243
You'd stopper it up and you'd take
it home and you would treasure it.
651
00:40:44,243 --> 00:40:46,923
And it's easy to pour scorn
on this and say,
652
00:40:46,923 --> 00:40:49,603
"Oh, they were flogging tat
to tourists",
653
00:40:49,603 --> 00:40:52,323
or, "Oh, how did they think
that would keep them safe?"
654
00:40:52,323 --> 00:40:55,243
But to a 14th-century person,
655
00:40:55,243 --> 00:40:58,963
desperately frightened
about what was going to happen,
656
00:40:58,963 --> 00:41:02,043
this was a way of making
yourself feel better,
657
00:41:02,043 --> 00:41:05,483
and that's not to be underestimated.
658
00:41:10,403 --> 00:41:13,843
But with thousands travelling
across the country to places
659
00:41:13,843 --> 00:41:17,123
like Canterbury, to me there's
a clear risk
660
00:41:17,123 --> 00:41:20,123
with so many people mixing
at a time of plague.
661
00:41:23,283 --> 00:41:26,763
I'm heading to see a surviving
14th-century shelter
662
00:41:26,763 --> 00:41:30,523
used for overnight stays
by Canterbury pilgrims.
663
00:41:35,003 --> 00:41:37,123
Hello. Hello. Welcome to Eastbridge.
664
00:41:37,123 --> 00:41:38,483
Thank you. Come in.
665
00:41:41,403 --> 00:41:44,283
Whoa! What a splendid place.
666
00:41:44,283 --> 00:41:45,963
Welcome to the Undercroft.
667
00:41:45,963 --> 00:41:47,563
The Undercroft? Yeah.
668
00:41:47,563 --> 00:41:49,163
Mm, it smells a little damp!
669
00:41:49,163 --> 00:41:51,123
It's very damp, yeah.
670
00:41:51,123 --> 00:41:53,883
And I can imagine
with pilgrims staying here,
671
00:41:53,883 --> 00:41:55,563
it would have been really grim.
672
00:41:55,563 --> 00:41:59,163
It would not have been a nice stay,
but it would have been safe.
673
00:41:59,163 --> 00:42:01,083
You were off the high street.
674
00:42:01,083 --> 00:42:03,563
You didn't need to worry
about being robbed,
675
00:42:03,563 --> 00:42:06,363
but this wouldn't have been
a pleasant stay at all.
676
00:42:06,363 --> 00:42:09,483
Would you have packed a lot
of people into your...
677
00:42:09,483 --> 00:42:13,443
Yeah, there probably would
have been 30, 40 people
678
00:42:13,443 --> 00:42:17,523
down here, all sharing hay beds.
679
00:42:17,523 --> 00:42:20,803
And it depends on who'd stayed
there before,
680
00:42:20,803 --> 00:42:23,643
the state of the hay
that you slept on.
681
00:42:23,643 --> 00:42:27,163
So you could have picked up lots
of creepy crawlies and bugs.
682
00:42:29,603 --> 00:42:34,243
The pilgrims sleeping in here
in the straw 700 years ago,
683
00:42:34,243 --> 00:42:37,363
I'm sure they were feeling
good about themselves.
684
00:42:37,363 --> 00:42:39,283
They'd finished their pilgrimage.
685
00:42:39,283 --> 00:42:41,763
They'd protected themselves
against sickness.
686
00:42:41,763 --> 00:42:45,763
But from my perspective,
there's a terrible,
687
00:42:45,763 --> 00:42:49,563
horrible irony here,
they're all crammed in together.
688
00:42:49,563 --> 00:42:53,043
People were coughing, they were
sleeping in hay and straw
689
00:42:53,043 --> 00:42:55,643
that was days old, it had had other
people sleeping in it.
690
00:42:55,643 --> 00:43:01,123
Imagine the fleas, and the body
lice, and the rats.
691
00:43:01,123 --> 00:43:03,683
And then, you know, they were all
planning to go back
692
00:43:03,683 --> 00:43:06,763
to their villages the next day,
villages like Walsham.
693
00:43:06,763 --> 00:43:09,643
Sounds like a super-spreader event.
694
00:43:15,483 --> 00:43:17,723
By New Year 1349,
695
00:43:17,723 --> 00:43:20,403
plague had infected
so many in London
696
00:43:20,403 --> 00:43:23,563
that the English Parliament
was prorogued -
697
00:43:23,563 --> 00:43:25,883
it was shut down.
698
00:43:25,883 --> 00:43:29,483
For a moment, no-one, it seems,
had oversight of the country
699
00:43:29,483 --> 00:43:33,083
as the Black Death
ripped through England.
700
00:43:33,083 --> 00:43:35,643
By Spring, plague had reached Wales.
701
00:43:37,243 --> 00:43:40,283
Leicester and Lincoln
had been struck.
702
00:43:40,283 --> 00:43:44,323
Estimated casualties in Norwich
were horrendous.
703
00:43:44,323 --> 00:43:49,083
Every day, it was getting
closer to Walsham.
704
00:43:55,043 --> 00:44:00,403
The court rolls suggest plague
hit Walsham in April 1349.
705
00:44:01,723 --> 00:44:05,363
Among the first to die
is William Cranmer the elder,
706
00:44:05,363 --> 00:44:07,843
Olivia's grandfather.
707
00:44:07,843 --> 00:44:12,603
Swiftly followed by Olivia's father,
and her brother.
708
00:44:12,603 --> 00:44:17,643
Three generations of Cranmers,
dead in a matter of weeks.
709
00:44:21,643 --> 00:44:26,443
For two months, the Black Death
tore through Walsham.
710
00:44:26,443 --> 00:44:30,083
Family after family
lost loved ones.
711
00:44:30,083 --> 00:44:35,043
At some point, Olivia's husband
Robert also succumbs.
712
00:44:37,083 --> 00:44:40,163
But I can find no mention
in the court rolls
713
00:44:40,163 --> 00:44:44,563
during these terrible months
of Olivia dying.
714
00:44:44,563 --> 00:44:48,123
Along with hundreds of other
victims in Walsham,
715
00:44:48,123 --> 00:44:51,803
younger men, women and children,
716
00:44:51,803 --> 00:44:54,123
her name simply isn't mentioned.
717
00:44:57,483 --> 00:45:00,043
It was a new bacterium.
718
00:45:00,043 --> 00:45:02,243
There was no herd immunity.
719
00:45:02,243 --> 00:45:06,243
People didn't really understand
how it spread.
720
00:45:06,243 --> 00:45:08,723
But in any case,
there was no escape.
721
00:45:08,723 --> 00:45:11,763
If you were a peasant, you could
not leave your community
722
00:45:11,763 --> 00:45:14,843
without the permission of your lord.
723
00:45:14,843 --> 00:45:19,123
You literally had to stay there,
working the land,
724
00:45:19,123 --> 00:45:24,443
paying your tax, waiting to see
if you'd live or die.
725
00:45:27,923 --> 00:45:30,243
By Autumn 1349,
726
00:45:30,243 --> 00:45:34,123
the Black Death was raging
in Ireland and Northumbria.
727
00:45:34,123 --> 00:45:38,003
Then the Scots invaded England,
believing that God had sent
728
00:45:38,003 --> 00:45:41,763
the pestilence to punish
their English foes.
729
00:45:41,763 --> 00:45:45,963
Unfortunately, they may have taken
plague back to Scotland with them,
730
00:45:45,963 --> 00:45:48,803
where the disease flared up
soon after.
731
00:45:58,523 --> 00:46:05,083
In 1350, the Black Death finally
died out in the British Isles.
732
00:46:05,083 --> 00:46:08,403
In two years, the pandemic
had claimed the lives
733
00:46:08,403 --> 00:46:11,243
of up to half the population.
734
00:46:11,243 --> 00:46:15,523
But eyewitness accounts of what life
was like in the immediate aftermath
735
00:46:15,523 --> 00:46:17,883
of plague, are scant.
736
00:46:17,883 --> 00:46:21,043
Those that survive are mainly
written by clerics.
737
00:46:21,043 --> 00:46:27,843
And these rare fragments hint at
a serious breakdown in society.
738
00:46:27,843 --> 00:46:31,043
Now, this is one of the
best of them.
739
00:46:31,043 --> 00:46:34,283
It's by a monk from Rochester.
740
00:46:34,283 --> 00:46:39,123
His name is William Deane,
and he's writing in 1350.
741
00:46:39,123 --> 00:46:43,523
So only just after the Black Death,
he's still very close to it.
742
00:46:43,523 --> 00:46:47,683
His work's in Latin,
but here's the translation.
743
00:46:49,483 --> 00:46:55,003
And this bit says, "Mortality
destroyed more than a third
744
00:46:55,003 --> 00:46:57,203
"of the men, women and children.
745
00:46:57,203 --> 00:47:01,163
"As a result, there was such
a shortage of servants,
746
00:47:01,163 --> 00:47:06,003
"craftsmen and workmen, and of
agricultural workers and labourers,
747
00:47:06,003 --> 00:47:10,643
"that a great many lords and people,
although well endowed with goods
748
00:47:10,643 --> 00:47:15,643
"and possessions, were yet without
all service and attendance."
749
00:47:18,963 --> 00:47:23,243
With millions of workers dead,
I want to find out what effect
750
00:47:23,243 --> 00:47:27,443
that had on society
once the plague had passed.
751
00:47:27,443 --> 00:47:32,003
Professor John Hatcher is an
economic historian at Cambridge,
752
00:47:32,003 --> 00:47:36,363
specialising in how the Black Death
transformed Britain.
753
00:47:38,843 --> 00:47:43,483
John, can you tell me what happens
when, potentially, nearly half
754
00:47:43,483 --> 00:47:45,563
the population of a country dies?
755
00:47:45,563 --> 00:47:48,963
Well, it's a very special
country at the time
756
00:47:48,963 --> 00:47:51,803
because of how agricultural it is.
757
00:47:51,803 --> 00:47:56,923
Land becomes abundant
and people become scarce.
758
00:47:56,923 --> 00:48:00,123
So wages rise
759
00:48:00,123 --> 00:48:02,483
because workers are scarce.
760
00:48:02,483 --> 00:48:07,763
And the consequence of that,
of course, is the landowners
761
00:48:07,763 --> 00:48:12,603
have the threat of the disorderly
peasantry, demanding far more
762
00:48:12,603 --> 00:48:17,203
in pay, but also they're demanding
freedom from serfdom.
763
00:48:17,203 --> 00:48:21,803
And just to quote one of the
commentators of the period,
764
00:48:21,803 --> 00:48:23,963
"His world was turned upside down."
765
00:48:23,963 --> 00:48:28,443
You'd think that it would cause
total societal breakdown and chaos,
766
00:48:28,443 --> 00:48:30,283
but it doesn't really, does it?
767
00:48:30,283 --> 00:48:32,883
No, it doesn't.
Why is that?
768
00:48:32,883 --> 00:48:36,843
If you compare it with modern times,
what you've got is people,
769
00:48:36,843 --> 00:48:40,043
the bulk of the population, 80%,
producing their own food.
770
00:48:40,043 --> 00:48:42,003
Oh! So they're like...
771
00:48:42,003 --> 00:48:44,043
They have to plough the land.
772
00:48:44,043 --> 00:48:47,883
There may be death and destruction
all around them,
773
00:48:47,883 --> 00:48:50,283
they have to keep supplying
their own land.
774
00:48:50,283 --> 00:48:55,123
You haven't got huge supply lines
for the majority of people. Er...
775
00:48:55,123 --> 00:49:00,203
Today, society would collapse
because you've got so few people
776
00:49:00,203 --> 00:49:03,203
who are actually producing
their own subsistence. Yes.
777
00:49:03,203 --> 00:49:07,443
But in those days, of course,
the situation is very direct.
778
00:49:07,443 --> 00:49:12,043
And what evidence is there
that these people
779
00:49:12,043 --> 00:49:15,963
in the labour market
were demanding higher wages?
780
00:49:15,963 --> 00:49:20,363
So the scarcity of labour makes
itself felt immediately.
781
00:49:20,363 --> 00:49:22,283
People can get work anywhere.
782
00:49:22,283 --> 00:49:25,123
They can demand the wages
that they want.
783
00:49:25,123 --> 00:49:28,283
And there's a splendid description
of a ploughman ploughing
784
00:49:28,283 --> 00:49:29,923
in the finery of a noble.
785
00:49:29,923 --> 00:49:33,803
He's been given it, it's got
a few holes in it.
786
00:49:33,803 --> 00:49:37,283
But nevertheless there he is,
with his plough in the mud,
787
00:49:37,283 --> 00:49:39,523
wearing the clothes of a nobleman!
788
00:49:39,523 --> 00:49:42,883
And the clothes have been handed
to him as a bribe
789
00:49:42,883 --> 00:49:45,043
to stay and work, to keep working.
790
00:49:45,043 --> 00:49:49,003
Wow! So if I were at the peasant
level of society,
791
00:49:49,003 --> 00:49:53,123
ironically, the Black Death might
be good for me if I survived
792
00:49:53,123 --> 00:49:55,363
because I'd have more access
to more food?
793
00:49:55,363 --> 00:49:57,123
Yes, absolutely.
794
00:49:57,123 --> 00:50:01,043
And also, of course, you inherited
the property of your family.
795
00:50:01,043 --> 00:50:05,603
Sometimes a large number of family
members would die in succession,
796
00:50:05,603 --> 00:50:09,883
leaving the single person
with the property
797
00:50:09,883 --> 00:50:12,963
of five or six people beforehand.
798
00:50:12,963 --> 00:50:14,723
It was a transformation.
799
00:50:18,683 --> 00:50:21,523
So did this new normal last?
800
00:50:23,323 --> 00:50:26,843
Perhaps, as you might expect,
the ruling classes in England,
801
00:50:26,843 --> 00:50:29,643
at least, tried to make sure
it didn't by rushing
802
00:50:29,643 --> 00:50:32,403
through a new national statute,
or law.
803
00:50:35,003 --> 00:50:38,003
This great long thing here, is a
copy
804
00:50:38,003 --> 00:50:42,363
of the Statute of Labourers
from 1351,
805
00:50:42,363 --> 00:50:44,083
so just after the plague.
806
00:50:44,083 --> 00:50:47,403
A translation here tells
us what it's all about.
807
00:50:47,403 --> 00:50:50,523
It says, "The King and the nobles
have passed the statute
808
00:50:50,523 --> 00:50:53,963
"against the malice of employees
809
00:50:53,963 --> 00:50:55,363
"who were idle
810
00:50:55,363 --> 00:50:58,563
"and who were not willing to take
employment after the pestilence
811
00:50:58,563 --> 00:51:02,163
"unless for outrageous wages."
812
00:51:02,163 --> 00:51:04,963
It says that they have to take
employment for the same
813
00:51:04,963 --> 00:51:06,403
wages as before
814
00:51:06,403 --> 00:51:09,323
or else they were going
to get imprisoned.
815
00:51:09,323 --> 00:51:13,083
Hmm, it also says that you're not
allowed to leave the town
816
00:51:13,083 --> 00:51:15,883
where you work to go and work
elsewhere in the summer.
817
00:51:15,883 --> 00:51:18,963
But then, they admit
that this isn't going to work.
818
00:51:18,963 --> 00:51:23,523
You CAN go to help with the harvest
if you live in Staffordshire,
819
00:51:23,523 --> 00:51:26,483
Lancashire, Derbyshire,
Wales or Scotland.
820
00:51:26,483 --> 00:51:30,243
That is going to be needed
to make the country work.
821
00:51:32,683 --> 00:51:37,163
With the ruling classes trying
to reinstate the old social order,
822
00:51:37,163 --> 00:51:40,763
but with the peasants gaining
opportunities for a new life,
823
00:51:40,763 --> 00:51:44,803
what does this mean for farming
communities like Walsham?
824
00:51:45,883 --> 00:51:48,843
And what happened to Olivia Cranmer?
825
00:51:50,963 --> 00:51:55,003
I know that all the male members
of her family are dead.
826
00:51:56,483 --> 00:51:59,683
But Olivia survives.
827
00:51:59,683 --> 00:52:04,203
A single entry in the Walsham
court rolls describes her fate.
828
00:52:05,243 --> 00:52:10,403
The lord of the manor wants rent
and tax from the Cranmer lands,
829
00:52:10,403 --> 00:52:13,443
so a radical decision is made.
830
00:52:13,443 --> 00:52:16,443
Olivia is listed as heir...
831
00:52:16,443 --> 00:52:20,643
..and granted tenancy
of around 40 acres
832
00:52:20,643 --> 00:52:22,683
of the Cranmer holdings.
833
00:52:28,683 --> 00:52:33,203
Now, I had been thinking of Olivia
as a sort of a freak accident.
834
00:52:33,203 --> 00:52:36,163
If this were a newspaper headline,
it might say,
835
00:52:36,163 --> 00:52:39,723
"Amazing! Walsham woman does well
out of Black Death."
836
00:52:39,723 --> 00:52:42,403
But have a look at this.
837
00:52:42,403 --> 00:52:46,803
You go through the court rolls,
there are lots of other examples
838
00:52:46,803 --> 00:52:50,123
of women inheriting land from men.
839
00:52:50,123 --> 00:52:53,923
Here we've got Agnes Wodebite...
840
00:52:54,883 --> 00:52:57,403
..and Catherine Deith.
841
00:52:58,803 --> 00:53:02,843
And over here we've got
Alice Rampolye.
842
00:53:02,843 --> 00:53:06,243
And these women's names are
appearing for the first time
843
00:53:06,243 --> 00:53:10,043
because for the first time,
they're economically relevant.
844
00:53:10,043 --> 00:53:13,483
And I'm wondering if this is
happening on a super local
845
00:53:13,483 --> 00:53:17,723
level in Walsham, what's happening
across the nation?
846
00:53:17,723 --> 00:53:22,203
Is it possible there's evidence
for other women coming
847
00:53:22,203 --> 00:53:26,803
out of the shadows, if you like,
in the wake of the Black Death?
848
00:53:30,843 --> 00:53:34,123
Professor Caroline Barron
has done extensive research
849
00:53:34,123 --> 00:53:39,043
into opportunities for women
in post-plague London.
850
00:53:40,923 --> 00:53:44,363
Inevitably, there was a great deal
of confusion afterwards.
851
00:53:44,363 --> 00:53:48,163
But gradually, what you see
is that women are emerging,
852
00:53:48,163 --> 00:53:52,363
holding down jobs, being apprenticed
as girl apprentices
853
00:53:52,363 --> 00:53:56,763
to men and to women,
taking over workshops
854
00:53:56,763 --> 00:54:01,883
and running them as successful
enterprises after the Black Death.
855
00:54:01,883 --> 00:54:05,443
So where a business
owner had died,
856
00:54:05,443 --> 00:54:09,323
his wife might sort of be forced,
economically, to take it over?
857
00:54:09,323 --> 00:54:13,483
Yes, and you find after
the Black Death that the cities
858
00:54:13,483 --> 00:54:17,163
expects a widow to continue to train
her husband's apprentices,
859
00:54:17,163 --> 00:54:20,483
and they encouraged her to run
his business.
860
00:54:20,483 --> 00:54:23,043
And in fact, they actually made
it possible for a woman
861
00:54:23,043 --> 00:54:26,083
who was a widow to become
a freewoman of London
862
00:54:26,083 --> 00:54:29,203
and have the economic privileges
that a Freeman of London
863
00:54:29,203 --> 00:54:31,203
would have had. Interesting.
864
00:54:31,203 --> 00:54:34,243
Are there specific women that you've
been able to research?
865
00:54:34,243 --> 00:54:36,843
Well, in the immediate aftermath
of the Black Death,
866
00:54:36,843 --> 00:54:41,843
quite interestingly, William Ramsay
was the chief Mason
867
00:54:41,843 --> 00:54:44,243
of the king, the Master Mason.
868
00:54:44,243 --> 00:54:48,043
He died in the Black Death,
and his daughter,
869
00:54:48,043 --> 00:54:51,483
called Agnes, clearly took over
the business from him.
870
00:54:51,483 --> 00:54:55,403
We find her running his workshop,
and although she was married,
871
00:54:55,403 --> 00:54:58,803
she kept her own name, or her
father's name and ran
872
00:54:58,803 --> 00:55:00,963
the father's business, yeah. Wow!
873
00:55:00,963 --> 00:55:04,163
And she is called Dame Agnes Ramsay
in the records.
874
00:55:04,163 --> 00:55:06,563
That's extraordinary! And they
recognised this position
875
00:55:06,563 --> 00:55:09,323
that she's achieved, so it shows you
that women could do things.
876
00:55:09,323 --> 00:55:11,723
Amazing. What's this record
you've got here?
877
00:55:11,723 --> 00:55:13,523
Does this tell one of their stories?
878
00:55:13,523 --> 00:55:17,283
Yes, this is the indenture
of Margaret,
879
00:55:17,283 --> 00:55:22,163
the daughter of Richard Bishop
of Seaford, near Lewes.
880
00:55:22,163 --> 00:55:25,843
And she's apprenticing herself
to a man called John Pritchett,
881
00:55:25,843 --> 00:55:29,643
citizen and tollisor, which means
a toll collector, of London.
882
00:55:29,643 --> 00:55:32,763
And Berger, his wife...
883
00:55:32,763 --> 00:55:35,203
..a telder maker,
which is a tentmaker.
884
00:55:35,203 --> 00:55:37,883
A tent maker? She's going to learn
to be a tentmaker?
885
00:55:37,883 --> 00:55:40,363
She's going to learn the craft
of the said Berger,
886
00:55:40,363 --> 00:55:42,603
so it's quite specific,
although she's apprenticed
887
00:55:42,603 --> 00:55:45,323
to the husband and wife, it says
she's going to learn the craft
888
00:55:45,323 --> 00:55:49,403
of the wife, and to be
the apprentice.
889
00:55:49,403 --> 00:55:52,683
Was this a bit like during the world
wars of the 20th century?
890
00:55:52,683 --> 00:55:54,883
The men weren't there,
the women had to take over?
891
00:55:54,883 --> 00:55:59,963
Absolutely, it's like the munitions
factories in the First World War.
892
00:55:59,963 --> 00:56:03,443
Or Rosie the Riveter in the
Second World War in America.
893
00:56:03,443 --> 00:56:06,243
It's all to do with the shortage
of population.
894
00:56:10,403 --> 00:56:15,323
As a new disease, the Black Death's
impact was horrific.
895
00:56:15,323 --> 00:56:19,043
And for a short while, the death
of half the population
896
00:56:19,043 --> 00:56:22,203
saw social order upended.
897
00:56:22,203 --> 00:56:27,203
Britain's peasant class tasted
freedom and empowerment.
898
00:56:27,203 --> 00:56:31,563
And despite efforts to return things
back to pre-plague conditions,
899
00:56:31,563 --> 00:56:35,323
many had seen their prospects
change fundamentally.
900
00:56:36,323 --> 00:56:40,243
None more so than Olivia Cranmer.
901
00:56:40,243 --> 00:56:43,723
She does well enough out of her
inherited land to retire
902
00:56:43,723 --> 00:56:46,403
with a pension in later life.
903
00:56:46,403 --> 00:56:48,963
She never remarried.
904
00:56:50,203 --> 00:56:54,123
The court rolls now name her
Olivia of Cranmer,
905
00:56:54,123 --> 00:56:57,963
and it looks like she may have lived
into her 60s,
906
00:56:57,963 --> 00:57:02,043
a ripe old age for the 14th century.
907
00:57:06,443 --> 00:57:10,523
Plague would return
to 14th-century Britain.
908
00:57:10,523 --> 00:57:14,203
With each new wave,
herd immunity built up.
909
00:57:14,203 --> 00:57:19,043
But it took 300 years for Britain's
population to get back
910
00:57:19,043 --> 00:57:21,443
to pre-pandemic levels.
911
00:57:21,443 --> 00:57:27,963
And the psychological impact of
the Black Death lasted generations.
912
00:57:27,963 --> 00:57:32,043
This image is the Danse Macabre.
913
00:57:32,043 --> 00:57:35,283
It's one of the iconic images
of the Black Death, isn't it?
914
00:57:35,283 --> 00:57:38,243
Skeletons enjoying themselves.
915
00:57:38,243 --> 00:57:41,523
But it's really striking to me
that it dates from well
916
00:57:41,523 --> 00:57:46,603
over a century
after the Black Death of 1348.
917
00:57:46,603 --> 00:57:51,923
I think it shows the lasting
psychological impact of the plague,
918
00:57:51,923 --> 00:57:55,163
which kept coming back and back
again, and it made
919
00:57:55,163 --> 00:57:58,003
people re-evaluate life.
920
00:57:58,003 --> 00:58:00,843
If life was a dance with death,
921
00:58:00,843 --> 00:58:04,523
if death could come and take
you at any moment, well...
922
00:58:05,643 --> 00:58:08,323
..then better enjoy life
while you can.
923
00:58:11,283 --> 00:58:13,603
The princes in the Tower.
924
00:58:13,603 --> 00:58:17,443
How did a power struggle
for the English throne lead
925
00:58:17,443 --> 00:58:21,163
to the mysterious disappearance
of two young boys?
926
00:58:21,163 --> 00:58:24,643
During the Wars of the Roses,
it's dog eat dog.
927
00:58:24,643 --> 00:58:29,083
You are winning power
using violence, or you're toast.
104048
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