3. The Great Famine of 1315-1317 caused mass starvation, convincing much of Europe that cannibalism was better than dying
The Great Famine of 1315-1317 (also dated between 1315-1322) was the first of many prolonged and deadly incidents known collectively as the “Crisis of the Late Middle Ages”. Affecting the majority of Europe, the famine caused the deaths of millions over a period of several years and signified the end of a celebrated period of European prosperity between the 11th and 13th centuries. Localized famines were nothing new to Medieval Europe, with even England, the most sufficient and supplied kingdom, enduring four famines during the 14th century and France as many as ten. Nonetheless, in the decades preceding the Great Famine the population of Europe had rapidly expanded and life expectancy had risen to a historic high of the mid-30s. This life expectancy would crumble during the famine, declining between 1301-1332 to approximately 29. This population growth, in conjunction with the failing harvests, dramatically intensified the consequences, with some regions, notably in rural France, not regaining the population until the 19th century.
The spring of 1315 saw exceptionally heavy rains, resulting in the destruction and flooding of much of Europe’s impending harvest. Whilst nobles enjoyed the preserves of emergency stores, peasants, comprising 95% of the population, were unable to afford the exponential rise in the cost of wheat, with prices in Lorraine increasing by 320% in 1315 alone. Animals were slaughtered, seed grain eaten for sustenance, and children abandoned. Chroniclers of the time repeatedly recorded, in acts of severe desperation, recurrent incidents of cannibalism across Europe. It would not be until 1325 that food supplies returned to normality, by which time an estimated 10-25% of the population had died. Although considerable, this number would pale in comparison to the impending Black Death (1347-51).