The Great Famine in Europe (1315–1317)

Timeline

1. 1315The Low Countries and northern France · Low CountriesIn spring and summer 1315, northwestern Europe experienced persistent cold and rain, waterlogged fields and mildewed grain, while salt production and long-distance grain transport were both hindered. Urban grain prices rose sharply, monastery and lordly granaries were quickly exhausted, and reports of famine followed in England, France, and the western Empire.
2. 1316England and northern France · Western Europe1316 was the worst year for death and displacement. With almost no normal harvest for two consecutive years, countryside lay fallow, corpses and vagrants increased in towns, and in some areas grain robbery, riots, and collapse of public order occurred. Church and municipal relief was far from sufficient for the affected population, and population losses were severe in the worst-hit regions.
3. 1316–1317Germany and the North Sea coast · Northern EuropeBefore the grain crisis eased, a large-scale plague struck cattle and sheep; the death of draft animals made ploughing and transport harder, and reduced manure further weakened soil fertility. This compounded blow meant that even after weather improved in 1317, agricultural recovery lagged significantly in some regions.
4. 1317Western Europe · Western EuropePrecipitation returned to normal in 1317, and the new harvest brought grain prices down from their peak, ending the acute phase of the Great Famine. However, population decline, abandoned land, and insufficient livestock herds made recovery slow; social vulnerability persisted into the 1330s, making this a precursor to Europe's multiple fourteenth-century crises.