The Bleak Midwinter of the 1430s

Published 2022-12-16
For European peasants winter was an especially difficult time, but some winters are more difficult than others. In the fifteenth century, a series of particularly bad winters struck throughout the 1430s, causing famine, exacerbating disease, and changing culture.

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Script by JCG

#history #thehistoryguy #Winter

All Comments (21)
  • "Cold! If the thermometer had been an inch longer we'd all have frozen to death."
    - Mark Twain
  • @magellantv
    One thing is for sure, the Middle Ages is a fascinating period of time to learn about.
  • "In the bleak mid-winter
    Frosty wind made moan;
    Earth stood hard as iron,
    Water like a stone;
    Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
    Snow on snow,
    In the bleak mid-winter
    Long ago."
  • @raydunakin
    Yep, climate change and extreme weather were happening long before the age of automobiles and modern industry. This is an excellent example of why history deserves to be remembered!
  • @meoohmy3231
    “We’ll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it, or not”…
  • @rcnfo1197
    Great episode! So much of history seems to be filled with wars and politics, and so little about what common folk experienced in day to day life. Thanks for filling in some of the blanks.
  • Good morning from chilly Ft Worth TX to everyone watching. Merry Christmas!
  • @geoben1810
    The really amazing thing is that humans and animals, domestic and wild, have managed to survive at all.
  • @iannarita9816
    James Burke in Connections2 pointed out that after years of famine and hardship reducing the available workers.
    The result was a shortage of available workers. This gave people offers for more for their labors. And other opportunities. The result was the Renaissance.
  • @AkX1353
    Historian Barbara Tuchman, in her book "A Distant Mirror" was looking for a time in the past equivalent to thermal nuclear war. The time of the black death and the 100 years war was her distant mirror. She wrote of a time a few years earlier than 1430. One of the interesting items that has stayed with me was that she found that the richest nobles of that time would not name their children until they survived to 7 years old
  • Once again the historic theme of finding someone to blame for the troubles. Continues to this day.😞😣
  • It was probably a combination of effects, including variations in the Earth's orbit, fresh meltwater from the prior Medieval Warm Period interrupting the thermohaline oceanic conveyor belt, multiple volcanic eruptions, and solar minima. The perfect storm for an entire decade.
  • A white sheet dipped in tallow makes a good substitute for glass in as much as it lets the light in, but the disadvantage is that like a frosted window you cant see anything through it.
  • Thank you. People need to be reminded that each of us is responsible for our food, our heat and our health. One cannot depend on the government to provide anything for the masses. Become self sufficient and try to assist others if you have the means to do so.
  • @BigboiiTone
    As a Nordic Alaskan, I'm currently experiencing a "mini ice age," of mine own. We have received at least five (5) feet of snow and as much as eight (8) feet in some areas. I am becoming muscular from the constant snow shoveling.
  • I woke up to freezing temps this morning. Couldnt have been better timed on this episode
  • @Yestradamus-
    I speculate a northern hemisphere volcano caused the cooling by placing particulates into the stratosphere, like Honga Tonga in the Southern Hemisphere has shown with this years current weather in South America and Australia.
  • My daughter's school started in 1407, considering the first thirty years of its existence, I am surprised that it is still going.
  • @Guangrui
    an increasingly popular theory says that the little ice age was one of the culprits who killed the Ming Dynasty, which collapsed in year 1644, a shock to the contemporaries, even those who worked day and night to bring its downfall 😌
  • @Five0Music
    As always, great content! I wanted to send a big thank you to Lance G. (THG) for a great Cameo birthday message for my wife… she LOVED it! I highly recommend you give Lance an opportunity to do a Cameo greeting for your loved ones who are fans of his channel. He did a great job!