Agrarian Change and Crisis in Europe, 1200-1500

This volume addresses one of the classic subjects on economic history: the process of aggregate economic growth and the crisis that engulfed the European continent during the late Middle Ages. This was not an ordinary crisis. During the period 1200-1500, Europe witnessed endemic episodes of famine and a wave of plague epidemics that amounted to one of its worst health crises, rivaled only by the Justinian plague in the sixth century. These challenges called into question the production of goods and services and the distribution of wealth, opening the possibility of fundamental systemic change. This book offers an empirical synthesis on a host of economic, demographic, and technological developments which characterized the period 1200-1500. By doing so in relation to eight distinct regions, covering most of Europe, it provides a basis on which the formulation of theoretical generalizations can be constructed. The volume also integrates developments in the Byzantine Empire, which were often ignored by studies on later medieval Europe. Agrarian Change and Crisis in Europepresents a more balanced summary of theory and evidence, viewing the feudal crisis as a monumental event on its own and not as part of the wider debate of the transition from feudalism to capitalism. It thereby adopts a more holistic overview of the European experience, including regions that were perceived up until now as too "exotic" to be included in such discussions.