Author Description

The fourteenth-century was a period of dramatic and startling change in the nature and organisation of English society. The Black Death in the middle of the century shattered the traditional structure of the population of England. Yet historical documentation of these changes has always been difficult, partly because it was impossible to identify precisely the vast majority of peasants in a particular locality because of changing surnames and the large number of transient outsiders. In this study of the parish of Halesowen in the West Midlands, Dr Razi has been able to overcome these obstacles through the use of an exceptionally complete series of court rolls covering the period 1270 to 1400. New methods reveal more precise data about life expectancy, the size of families, the specific age of mortality during the Black Death and the age distribution of the male population. New light is thrown on the family structure of the medieval English peasantry and on the continuing controversy about the English population before and after the plague. The book will interest teachers and students of social, economic and demographic history and of English medieval and local history generally.