How the Plague changed Ireland

Hey guys! Have a look at my first draft of my project work I've written for my English course at university! Feel free to leave a comment :)

In the Middle Ages, there was an epidemic that was spread rapidly in vast parts of Europe. The Plague, a highly infectious disease that caused a painful death after unbearable suffering, spread fear and terror. It is well known that people had to cope with considerable problems in the aftermath of the Plague. Which, however, were the impacts Ireland had to overcome?

The Black Death was a highly contagious disease that raged virulently through Ireland and caused anxiety, horrendous suffering and death among society. In 1348, first cases of the Black Death were registered in the Eastern ports Drogheda, Howth and Dalkey. While the bacteria, Yersinia pestis, was originally transmitted by flea bite, it soon deteriorated into a far more deadly disease that was spread through air. As a consequence, great fear and horror ruled society. „The pestilence was so contagious that whosoever touched the sick and the dead was immediately infected and died, so that penitent and confessor were carried to the grave” [1], recorded John Clyn, a Franciscan Friar in Kilkenny. No wonder the Black Death was considered the end of the world and thus the end of human existence. In the aftermath of the Plague, Ireland’s population had shrunken by around 40% and society was faced with considerable changes.

Not the entire population in Ireland was affected equally by the Plague. English and Norman settlers living in the densely populated areas in the East of Ireland were hit far worse than the Irish clans on the countryside. Subsequently, numerous English settlers left their goods and chattels and fled back to England if they had the means to. The Normans, in contrast, had been gradually assimilating into the Gaelic population, which became increasingly dominant. Gaelic aristocracy took advantage of the weakened settlements and recaptured their lands that had been in possession of the English.

As the Roman Catholic Church was at a loss to know how to heal the infected, it had to face up a tremendous disaster as multiple believers turned away from the Church. The medieval mindset considered the Plague a punishment sent from God as response to their sins. The supposedly unshakeable faith in the Church suddenly turned into disappointment and doubt when it was revealed that the monarchs neither knew how to cure the Plague. As a result, the Church had to face up a considerable loss of believers. There were, however, religiously fanatic groups that gained momentum: the flagellants. Their idea was that punishing themselves would prevent God from doing it. The cure should be achieved by whipping oneself until bleeding in order to get finally rid of the disease.

In the Plague’s aftermath, around 1350, Ireland saw considerable changes in terms of society, politics and economy. As mentioned above, Gaelic customs and language on the one hand, gained influence. In fact, even such great descent Anglo-Norman settler families as the FitzGeralds of Kildare became glaelicised [2] by adopting Irish customs and Brehon Law, language and even Irish names. From the English settler’s point of view, the Anglo-Normans became even more Irish than the Irish themselves [3]. On the other hand, English settlements that had lost authority were pushed back into a small region around Dublin, called the Pale, which became isolated from the Lordships of Munster and Leinster. The fact that the Irish rapidly became extremely powerful made the English worry about whether they would have been able to maintain their existence on Irish terrain.

Thereupon, the government of the Pale passed the Statutes of Kilkenny in 1367, which should avoid further incorporation of the descents of Norman settlers into the barbaric Irish tribes and therefore prevent Irish power. Nevertheless, the Statutes did not bring about a noticeable effect on society as they were widely ignored by both Irish and Anglo-Normans ever since they had been passed. Nevertheless, there was a further dilemma the entire population was concerned about. In terms of economy, it seemed as if the feudal system was about to collapse. Due to mass extinction within tenants, nobles, also known as tenants-in-chiefs, were seriously concerned about the labour shortage and, moreover, the declining profits that were supposed to be paid to the King. As a consequence, multiple manors were forced to reduce the rents to attract new tenants and to dissuade others from moving elsewhere [4]. Yet, migration was unstoppable and many tenants moved to cities and towns. The great loss of labours resulted in a struggle for survival as food supply was severely depleted. Moreover, daily life was accompanied with continual warfare and insecurity. Further outbreaks of the Black Death resulted in chronic starvation and an increase in mortality which took the Irish almost one and a half centuries to recover from.

Obviously, the Plague caused mass extinction and therefore changes in social structures, national politics and economy. The capability of a disease such as the Plague cannot be underestimated. The Black Death can definitely be regarded as one occasion in Irish history that led to a great long-term change.



[1]:http://books.google.at/books?id=1O_PX2wVD0sC&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=john+clynn&source=bl&ots=HNuwMSaOTv&sig=O-6RrWIN7LSeGSJsjlNy156APYs&hl=de&sa=X&ei=wXV8U5S0H8uy7AamgYGYCg&ved=0CEwQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=grave&f=false

[2]:http://www.familyhistoryireland.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=31:the-absorption-of-many-anglo-norman-families-who-invaded-ireland-into-gaelic-irish-culture&tmpl=component&print=1

[3]: http://www.historyireland.com/20th-century-contemporary-history/more-irish-than-the-irish-themselves/

[4]: http://www.historyireland.com/medieval-history-pre-1500/unheard-of-mortality-the-black-death-in-ireland/

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/black_01.shtml#eight
http://www.lordsandladies.org/black-death.htm
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/30097157?uid=3737528&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21104132829003
http://www.politics.ie/forum/history/43970-did-black-death-cause-demise-normans-ireland.html
http://books.google.at/books?id=yw3HmjRvVQMC&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=the+black+death+ireland&source=bl&ots=HCOnslVwf8&sig=kdBOjF6Q1jgjxYTKdfbYMKC2JeA&hl=de&sa=X&ei=SRRtU7f2C4XH7Abkq4CgDw&ved=0CFMQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=ireland&f=false The Black Death by Joseph Patrick Byrne
http://books.google.at/books?id=1O_PX2wVD0sC&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=the+black+death+ireland&source=bl&ots=HMDFMRcOUt&sig=yLdhQdDczjBqeRIXJ4Vw2bd-cvc&hl=de&sa=X&ei=SRRtU7f2C4XH7Abkq4CgDw&ved=0CE8Q6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=ireland&f=false The Black Death by Rosemay Horrox
http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie/history/historyofcorkcity/pre1400/theblackdeath/
http://www.gaire.com/e/b/article.asp?id=2543
http://www.authenticireland.com/irish-history-of-ireland/
http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=22890
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPXaPhpmvtc&list=PLCtjc4UGjXI6j_rPXiW4B9tmopWuooQaa&index=2 The Story of Ireland; Age of Conquest
The Story of Ireland by Neil Hegarty
http://www.irish-society.org/home/hedgemaster-archives-2/history-events/the-statutes-of-kilkenny
http://www.historyireland.com/medieval-history-pre-1500/unheard-of-mortality-the-black-death-in-ireland/

picture: http://myriverside.sd43.bc.ca/emberw-2013/files/2014/02/790.hq_v1-1hzstoq.jpg