... these responses effect the social, religious, political and economic structures of medieval Europe? Some, like Zeigler would say that the course of Europe "changed by the coming of the Black Death, which did but accelerate a movement already in being,"(258) suggesting that the Black Death was merely a catalyst for change. Perhaps this is true, but at the same time others argue that the changes that occurred in post-Plague Europe were a direct result of the way the people reacted to the Black Death. While the focus of this paper is on the aftermath of the Black Death, it is imperative to have a basic understanding of the social and economic condition of Europe during the fourteenth century in order to fully comprehend its impact. Europe spent the majority of the fourteenth century in an economic slump; small villages were becoming overcrowded, famine weakened the lower and middle classes, and ...

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