1349
Black Death reaches England and Scandinavia
The plague ferried north on coastal traders. By autumn it had killed perhaps half the population of London, Bristol, and York. Norwegian fishermen brought it home and watched their valleys empty, whole parishes left with no living priest. Rural manors collapsed for lack of laborers. Wage agitation across northern Europe began that winter.
Strasbourg burns its Jews
On Saint Valentine's Day, the city council let a mob round up around two thousand Jews and burn them on a wooden platform in the cemetery. Their property was confiscated and divided among the city's debt-strapped guildsmen, who had demanded the massacre to cancel their debts. The plague had not yet arrived in Strasbourg. It would come anyway.
William of Ockham dies of plague at Munich
The English Franciscan philosopher, exiled under Louis IV's protection, died of the contagion in his Bavarian refuge. His razor - do not multiply entities beyond necessity - would become the cardinal principle of late medieval and early modern science, a methodological discipline that cut through metaphysical speculation. He had outlived his pope and his emperor.
Flagellant processions roam Germany
Whipping themselves bloody with iron-tipped scourges, bands of laymen marched from town to town chanting Christ's passion and demanding the plague's end. Their processions drew crowds of thousands across the Rhineland and Low Countries. Clement VI forbade the movement in October. Some flagellant brotherhoods diverted into anti-Jewish rampages. The Church rediscovered its fear of unregulated lay piety.
Want 1349 in context? Print the whole 14th century as a one-sheet timeline chart.
Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1349?
Saeculum lists 4 curated events from 1349. The most significant is Black Death reaches England and Scandinavia: The plague ferried north on coastal traders. By autumn it had killed perhaps half the population of London, Bristol, and York.
What era was 1349 part of?
1349 falls within the Late Middle Ages (1301-1500). Plague, papal schism, and the seeds of nation-states.
Which regions saw notable events in 1349?
The curated events from 1349 span Europe.