The Great Famine was a crisis that caused the death of millions. It occurred in the 14th century in Europe, and it marked the end of a prosperous age. It is widely believed that the Great Famine was triggered by a spate of bad weather. The Medieval Warm Period was over without forecast. Subsequently, the European society plunged into squalor and crime. Some people resorted to cannibalism in desperation. The summer harvest of 1317 marked the end of the Great Famine, but it did not take Europe any earlier than 1322 to recover fully (Homewood).
At the start of the 14th century, Europe had not developed scientific knowledge as yet, and scientific revolution was in its infancy. At that time, the only explanation was that the supernatural had a hand in the famine. European and Chinese chronicles had it that a comet was seen during 1315 to 1316. The timing of the comet was suspect, as comets were associated with strife and famine. Earthquakes rocked France between 1316 and 1317, therefore, the belief that the Great Famine had supernatural causes (Homewood).
After resorting to prayer without reprieve, the Great Famine started taking its toll on the church. The church had no answer to the increasingly desperate issue of famine. Church attendance started dwindling steadily because people had lost faith in the church (Homewood). The Great Famine was still greatly a supernatural problem owing to poor scientific and agricultural understanding.
Modern day climatologists, sociologists, and historians have a different take on what caused the Great Famine. Climatologists trace the Great Famine to the sudden change in climate in the early 1300s. The Medieval Warm Period (MWP) was giving way to the little ice age. Temperatures dropped by as much as nine degrees Celsius, which is quite similar to today’s temperatures, but much lower than Europe had experienced in a millennia prior to the 1200s (Homewood). Crop failure that kicked off the Great Famine was caused by this dramatic change in climate.
European societies had witnessed sharp increments in population, but food production was not increasing at the same pace. The little food that could be produced was not enough for the European population. The effects of the famine were sadly reduced only after a large portion of the European population had been wiped out (Homewood).
Today, the Great Famine serves as a deep reserve from which lessons can be drawn and changes made to avert a repeat of such a calamity (Homewood). Through modern science, a repeat of the Great Famine is next to impossible. A population has to be checked and regulated by use of periodic census. There is an awareness of the need to produce adequate food. All governments, in an attempt to stave off famine, have set up national crop reserves that are regularly stocked with all major grains including corn and wheat. Europe was more or less isolated in the Great Famine. However, some Baltic states were spared including Far East nations.
Works Cited
Homewood, Paul. "The Great Famine Of 1315". Not a Lot of People Know That.
N.p., 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
