8. 1316 was one of Europe’s darkest years as the harvests failed for a second time, leading to widespread starvation.
The 14th century was a pretty tough time to be alive, period. If you weren’t lucky enough to be born into wealth, you would have had to endure a life of discomfort, uncertainty and misery. However, the year 1316 stands out due to the extra grimness, especially in England. The harvests had failed in 1315. This happened again the following year, causing widespread hunger. Countless numbers starved (the exact number is unknown as records simply weren’t kept) as it carried on raining right across Europe, preventing new crops from being grown and harvested.
Even King Edward II of England found no bread to eat when he arrived in the city of St. Albans that summer. Before long, people were taking desperate measures to survive. Animals used to work the field were slaughtered and eaten. Seed grain was also eaten in both risky short-term measures. Many of the surviving sources from the time note that many peasants turned to cannibalism, and families would abandon their children to look after themselves, a brutal turn of events that inspired the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. Eventually, after two devastating years, the weather returned to normal in the summer of 1317.