The plague actually originated in Asia and traveled through Europe by the fleas that were on the rats aboard ships transporting goods. And wow did it spread! The bubonic plague (known during that time as ‘the great pestilence’) ravaged Eurasia, killing up to 60% of the population. Entire villages were nearly wiped out and consecrated ground was so hard to find that bodies were buried in mass graves. At one point in Avignon, there were so many dead that Pope Clement VI consecrated the Rhone River so bodies could be dumped into it to rid the streets of the dead that were piling up.
With so much death and so little valid medical knowledge to aid in the massive rates of the dying, it’s no wonder people were scared. In Leila’s Legacy, I reference families, friends and neighbors abandoning one another. Unfortunately, there was truth to all of it. People’s fear was so great, it caused many to turn their backs on those who were ill for fear of contracting the contagion themselves. It also caused many to act irrationally, like blaming the pestilence on people of certain religions, or claiming witches were at fault.
During the 14th century, people thought the illness was carried in the air. They weren’t wrong in their assessment that bad smells are generally nature’s way of saying “do not touch”, but obviously their logic was flawed due to their epidemiologic ignorance.
I won’t share all the details on how the fleas transferred the plague from rats to humans as it might be hard for some people to read (it’s pretty gross), but for those of you who are intrigued by such things, I strongly encourage you to look it up – it’s truly fascinating! Just don’t eat while you do it.
The Black Death hit Europe so hard that it took about 300 years for the population to be restored. While this was devastating to humanity at the time, it couldn’t have been better from an economic standpoint. I didn’t delve into this in the series, but still wanted to make note of it here in my author’s note. With so many dead, the population as a whole had enough food to feed everyone for the first time in several centuries. People who once subsisted off a meager diet were finally able to eat hearty meals. But there wasn’t just an abundance of food, there was also an abundance of wealth.
For the first time ever, there was a serious shortage of serfs for lords to have work their lands. As a result, neighboring lords were offering to give serfs coin for their services (previously a serf’s pay came in the form of a strip of their own land to work). Not only were lords paying serfs to work the land, but they were paying them well. The serfs weren’t the only ones to benefit. With extra coin in their pocket they hadn’t had before, the serfs began to spend, buying things only the wealthy could afford before. As a result, the merchant class grew to be one of incredible wealth.
Contrarily, the lords were now paying more for the labor on their land. They had titles, yes, but the merchant class was quickly growing even wealthier than nobility. And so, the nobles began to actually marry non-nobles, forming alliances with people who had wealth and sought titles.
It was a domino effect of wealth and prosperity in a land that lost 30-60% of its population.
I tried to incorporate as much of my research on the Black Death in Leila’s Legacy as I could without going too overboard. This time period was a truly interesting one to write about and I hope you all enjoyed reading about it as much as I did writing about it.
And for those of you wondering how Werrick Castle wasn’t hit hard by the plague…well, it had a lot to do with a certain little cat who has an affinity for rats.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my amazing beta readers who helped make this story so much more with their wonderful suggestions: Kacy Stanfield, Monika Page, Janet Barrett, Tracy Emro and Lorrie Cline. You ladies are so amazing and make my books just shine!
Thank you to Janet Kazmirski for the final read-through you always do for me and for catching all the little last minute tweaks.
Thank you to John Somar and my wonderful minions for all the support they give me.
Thank you to Erica Monroe who saves my life time after time for doing an amazing job with edits and is always there for whatever I need. I swear, you add more years back onto my life with all the help and laughter you bring me. And thank you to Teresa Sprecklemeyer (the Midnight Muse) for her incredible work on creating all these gorgeous covers for my Borderland Ladies series.
And a huge thank you so much to my readers for always being so fantastically supportive and eager for my next book.
About the Author
Madeline Martin is a USA TODAY Bestselling author of Scottish set historical romance novels filled with twists and turns, adventure, steamy romance, empowered heroines and the men who are strong enough to love them.
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She lives a glitter-filled life in Jacksonville, Florida with her two daughters (known collectively as the minions) and a man so wonderful he's been dubbed Mr. Awesome. She loves Disney, Nutella, wine and could easily lose hours watching cat videos.
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Find out more about Madeline at her website:
http://www.madelinemartin.com
Also by Madeline Martin
Borderland Ladies
Marin’s Promise
Anice’s Bargain
Ella’s Desire
Catriona’s Secret
Leila’s Legacy
Highland Passions
A Ghostly Tale of Forbidden Love
The Madam’s Highlander
The Highlander’s Untamed Lady
Her Highland Destiny
Highland Passions Box Set Volume 1
Heart of the Highlands
Deception of a Highlander
Possession of a Highlander
Enchantment of a Highlander
The Mercenary Maidens
Highland Spy
Highland Ruse
Highland Wrath
Regency Novellas and Novels
Earl of Benton
Earl of Oakhurst
Mesmerizing the Marquis
How to Tempt a Duke (Harlequin Historical)
Leila’s Legacy Page 25