The Late Medieval Agrarian Crisis and Black Death Plague
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THE LATE MEDIEVAL AGRARIAN CRISIS AND BLACK DEATH PLAGUE EPIDEMIC IN MEDIEVAL DENMARK: A PALEOPATHOLOGICAL AND PALEODIETARY PERSPECTIVE A Dissertation by CASSADY J. YODER Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2006 Major Subject: Anthropology THE LATE MEDIEVAL AGRARIAN CRISIS AND BLACK DEATH PLAGUE EPIDEMIC IN MEDIEVAL DENMARK: A PALEOPATHOLOGICAL AND PALEODIETARY PERSPECTIVE A Dissertation by CASSADY J. YODER Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, Lori E. Wright Committee Members, Sheela Athreya Filipe Vieira de Castro Vivian Paul Head of Department, David Carlson August 2006 Major Subject: Anthropology iii ABSTRACT The Late Medieval Agrarian Crisis and Black Death Plague Epidemic in Medieval Denmark: A Paleopathological and Paleodietary Perspective. (August 2006) Cassady J. Yoder, B.A., University of New Mexico Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Lori Wright The medieval period of Denmark (11th-16th centuries) witnessed two of the worst demographic, health, and dietary catastrophes in history: the Late Medieval Agrarian Crisis (LMAC) and the Black Death plague epidemic. Historians have argued that these events resulted in a change in subsistence from a cereal grain to a more pastorally- focused diet, and that the population decimation resulted in improved living conditions. This dissertation bioarchaeologically examines the impact of these historically described events on the diet and health of the population from Jutland, Denmark. I examine the stable isotopic ratios of carbon and nitrogen, dental caries, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, periosteal reactions, and femur length to examine the samples for dietary and health differences due to sex, time period, site and social status. The results suggest that there are few chronological differences in diet or health in these samples. There are greater disparities among the sites, as peasants from the rural site had a more terrestrially-based diet and poorer health than the urban sites. While there is little difference in diet by sex, there is a disparity in health between the sexes. However, the direction of difference varies by site, suggesting that the relative treatment of the sexes was not universal in Denmark. While the results indicate there is little iv difference in health by status, there are dietary differences, as elites had a more marine- based diet than peasants. This research indicates the importance of bioarchaeological analysis in the interpretation of historical events. The recording of history is dependent on the viewpoint of the recorder and may not accurately reflect the importance of events on the the population itself. Bioarchaeological techniques examine skeletal material from the individuals in question and may provide a better understanding of the consequences of historic events on the population, such as the effects of the LMAC and Black Death on the population of Denmark. This research reveals that, contrary to historical expectation, these events did not have a measurable impact on Danish diet or health. Thus, the use of historical documentation and bioarchaeological analyses provides a richer understanding of these historical events. v DEDICATION For my family, both by blood and by love vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee chair, Dr. Lori Wright, and my committee members, Dr. Sheela Athreya, Dr. Filipe Castro and Dr. Vivian Paul, for all of their help, guidance and support; without them I would not have been able to conduct this research. Specifically, I thank Lori Wright for her perserverance during the writing of this dissertation and her mentoring of me throughout my graduate career; she has helped me become a better anthropologist and scholar. Sheela Athreya has not only been of amazing statistical help, but she has also been my best cheerleader and I thank her for her constant support, enthusiasm and unwavering belief in me. Filipe Castro has been very helpful in piecing together the often tricky business of historical research. I thank Vivian Paul for her patient guidance on Cistercian life and culture and her enthusiasm for my project. I would also like to thank Dr. Jesper Boldsen, his lovely wife Ingrid, and their children, for all of their help, support and goodwill during my stay in Denmark. In addition, I would like to thank Jesper for access to the Øm Kloster, St. Mikkel and Ribe skeletal material. I would also like to thank Bo Gregersen and the Øm Kloster Museum for access to the lay and elite Øm Kloster skeletal material, and Dr. Pia Bennike and the University of Copenhagen for access to the monastic skeletal material from Øm Kloster. Lene Mollerup from the Øm Kloster Museum, Dr. Jesper Hjermind from the Viborg Musuem and Dr. Jakob Kieffer-Olsen from the Ribe Museum have all been extremely helpful providing information on the three sites I examined, and I thank them. This research was supported by a dissertation improvement grant from the National Science Foundation (BCS-0452672). Initial research and orientation to the vii ADBOU skeletal collections was made possible by the MSC L.T. Jordan Institue. Laboratory preparation of the isotope samples was funded by the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research. I gratefully acknowledge these institutions for their support, without which this research would not have been possible. Isotopic analysis of the human and faunal collagen samples was conducted by Dr. Tom Boutton in the Department of Rangeland Ecology at Texas A&M University. Apatite samples from the human and faunal bone samples were examined by Dr. Ethan Grossman in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Texas A&M University. I would like to thank everyone in the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M University. Specifically, I thank Dr. David Carlson for his statistical help, substituting on my committee, and his general great advice throughout the years. Dr. Sharon Gursky has also been a source of support, advice and laughter, and I thank her for her friendship through the years. My first years at Texas A&M University were aided tremendously by the guidance of Drs. Gentry Steele and Katherine Dettwyler. I would like to thank Dr. Joseph Powell and Ann Carson for their early guidance in my career as a physical anthropologist at the University of New Mexico. Joseph Powell is an amazing teacher and his enthusiasm for his subject and teaching inspired me to go to graduate school and teach. Ann Carson’s friendship and advice has been invaluable to me both in both my time as an undergraduate and graduate student. I would be nowhere without all of the love and support of my friends. Amador, Andy, Eric, Jason and Maria are a great cohort, always supportive and never competitive, and they helped make College Station a surprisingly great place to live. My girls Ashely, Charlotte, Eleanor, Katie, Maria, and our honorary boy member Taras have listened to viii hours of venting and angst and helped to remind me what is important in life. They have kept me sane and made me laugh and are the best friends, and support group, I could ever want. Juan has been a great source of comfort during the final months of my writing, without whom I would have lost my mind entirely. Lastly, I can’t express how thankful I am for my family. They have always been there for me: cheering me on when my spirits flagged, proud of me even when I did not feel I deserved it, and always supportive of my decision to embark on this crazy process. They never asked when I would be done, but always had faith that I would finish. For all this, and so much more, I thank them. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................iii DEDICATION.....................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................vi TABLE OF CONTENTS.....................................................................................ix LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................xiii LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................xiv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION .............................................................................1 II A BRIEF HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL DENMARK.........................7 Women in Scandinavia .............................................................8 The Early Medieval Period of Denmark...................................9 The Little Ice Age and Late Medieval Agrarian Crisis.............17 The Black Death .......................................................................18 The Late Medieval Period of Denmark ....................................22 Summary...................................................................................28 III MEDIEVAL DIET AND HEALTH..................................................30 Diet in Medieval Europe...........................................................30 Health in Medieval Europe .......................................................41 Conclusions...............................................................................48 IV RESEARCH DESIGN.......................................................................50