The Black Death! Attack by a silent, unseen, untouchable foe
‘The sickness has dealt our people a terrible blow!
Its horrible effects have caused nothing but sorrow and woe!
Is it a punishment from God for our sins? Well, the Bible states that you will reap what you sow!’
Was divine intervention the reason for the Black Death? Whatever the cause, the effects of the pestilence on English life was devastating. Of course as has been noted, it was the sheer number of people falling sick and dying which made the greatest initial impact. Then there were the burials or absence of them, as quite often there was not enough of the living to perform that particular, most necessary of chores. Crops rotted in the fields because there was no one left to harvest them.
Reaping what you had sown became a less common sight in 1348.
Church services, long the heart of medieval life, ceased because the priests had died denying people the religious succour that they so badly needed in these troubled times.
‘The foul pestilence felled both the greatest and the least!
And neither did it deign to spare the faithful, humble, holy priest!’
No one to say prayers on the day of our village patron saint’s feast!
The courts of law were often closed. which when combined with these highly unusual circumstances, probably contributed to further lawlessness. Parliament did not sit as regularly as before, so the king decided to rule by decree. The royal family were not left untouched, indeed they were amongst the first to be affected. The king’s daughter, fourteen year old Joan, succumbed to the disease at Bordeaux in July whilst en-route to her wedding to the son of King Alfonso of Castile.
‘Oh do have pity for Joan, she who so hoped for the joy of the first wedding bell!
For Joan of England, there would be nought but the slow sound of the death knell!’
Princess Joan
By God’s teeth, what horror! Edward was grief-stricken at the news of Joan’s death. He spoke of her goodness and gave effusive thanks to God for the short time that she was allowed to enrich the royal family by her presence.
‘My dear Joan as a daughter, I could not fault her!
Now my sweet daughter has fallen victim to this terrible slaughter!’
The king, helpless in the face of this avalanche of lethal sickness, could do little but to exhort the people to engage in fasting and prayer in a desperate attempt to halt its dreadful, unstoppable carnage. Edward, probably the greatest showman to ever sit on the English throne, now spoke to his beleaguered subjects. His message to every town and village would have read as follows:
‘You my poor people must not rage at the pestilence with anger and bile!
No! Oh no, do not simply weep at the ravages of an ailment so very vile!
I urge you, one and all to fight it’s advance with harsh self-denial!
Self-denial! Yes, this must now be your new but permanent lifestyle!
Of course, this greatest of calamities is in its effects, terribly and totally unfair!
But I have nothing to say to you, but get down on your knees! On your knees, and say prayer after prayer!’
The Order of the Garter.
However, despite the disastrous situation, King Edward found time to develop a project which had been close to his heart for quite some time. Edward decided to create a formal body whose membership would be open to only of those who had shown exceptional military ability. Any landed magnate who thought that their wealth and status would make them an ideal candidate for membership, would be swiftly disabused of any such notion. Entry to this body would depend not on nobility of birth, but on proven skill in combat.
‘You think that your aristocratic title will get you entry to the Order of the Garter!
No kid, think again, entry by family name is a simple non-starter!
You must show that in deadly combat you were brave and quick thinking!
Can you prove that after the battle that you left the king’s enemies prone, putrid and stinking!’
The new military elite was to be titled the Order of the Garter. Surprisingly, members were not to be endowed with riches, this was a tight, military elite force with a strong sense of esprit de corps.
Henry of Lancaster – an early member of the Order of the Garter.
1348 had been a terrible year, but there is of course an upside to most bad things, King Edward considered the Order of the Garter a most noble achievement. What were the king’s thoughts as 1348 turned into 1349?
‘Well, t’was a bad year, every family in the realm did shed a tear!
The very worst year of my reign, because so little did we gain!
As we go into 1349 I just hope that everything will be well and fine!