Society
The economic and religious changes would also lead to a change in society. With death lurking around every corner, individuals become more interested in the here and now, the life of the moment with its passions and its beauty became more appealing. An appreciation of the arts developed alongside a thirst for knowledge. People looked to the past for answers and rediscovered the works of the classical Greeks and Romans.
One of the more interesting changes to society happened in the bedroom, or more likely in the fields and cowsheds. Life was celebrated through sexual intercourse, this ranged from cemetery orgies, where victory over death was celebrated, to an increase in incest as rules and social norms were cast aside. The rise in incest was due to the decline in the population, the problem was no longer how to stop relatives from marrying but just finding somebody to marry to preserve the family name.
Rats which contained the fleas which carried the Yersinia pestis bacterium found Medieval dwellings prime real estate. Often people shared a room with livestock and other animals, cramped together in their own filth, the floors and roofs were covered in hay, such conditions were perfect for rats.
The decline in the population saw a movement towards an increase in demand for private spaces, as a reaction to the pre-plague crowding of cities. In upper-class society, private rooms had their own lavatories and the hay which covered the floor would be replaced by rugs and carpets.