Enlarge

Monks with the plague

The Black Death swept across Europe in the 1340s and 1350s, reducing the population by up to a half. No community was free from its clutches, as this depiction of monks suffering from its ravages clearly demonstrates. Villages were left empty as entire communities died out.

Reference: British Library Royal MS 6.E.vi f. 301 (date: 1345-55)
By permission of the British Library.
(© Copyright belongs to the British Library and further reproduction is prohibited.)