What caused the Great Famine of 1315-1317?

The Great Famine of 1315-1317 was triggered primarily by exceptionally bad weather beginning in the spring of 1315 that caused widespread crop failures lasting through 1316. These agricultural failures were compounded by the Great Bovine Pestilence, which devastated livestock populations across Europe. Together, these combined crises brought an end to medieval Europe's period of growth and prosperity, leading to mass death, disease, and societal disruption.

What we know

• The Great Famine started with bad weather in the spring of 1315, leading to crop failures that lasted through 1316 until the summer harvest in 1317. [2]
• Weakened cattle became susceptible to disease, resulting in the Great Bovine Pestilence which caused sheep and cattle numbers to fall by as much as 80 percent. [2]
• The famine affected most of Europe, extending east to Poland and south to the Alps. [2]
• The crisis period of the late Middle Ages, which included the famine, coincided with a shift in regional climate from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age. [4]

Still open

• Sources occasionally date the overall crisis duration as lasting from 1315 to 1322 rather than concluding strictly in 1317.

Where to go next

• what caused itHow did the Little Ice Age affect medieval Europe?
• how it workedWhat were the consequences of the Great Bovine Pestilence?
• what followedHow did the Black Death reshape medieval demographics?
• the bigger pictureWhat was the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages?
• an unexpected connectionWhat happened during the Bruce campaign in Ireland?

Sources

• [1]Great Famine of 1315–1317 (Wikidata Q1988505) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Great Famine of 1315–1317 · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Bruce campaign in Ireland · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Crisis of the late Middle Ages · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Famine · CC BY-SA 4.0

Your path

1. What was the Treaty of Utrecht of 1474?
2. /What caused the Great Famine of 1315-1317?