Henry of Richmond without these ghastly records of the sufferings of
the people. Disease not only arrested the growth of the population,
but reduced it considerably. It was mostly of a typhoid nature. The
undrained soil, the shallow stagnant waters which lay upon the surface
of the ground, the narrow and unhealthy homes, the filthy and neglected
streets of the towns, the excessive use of salted provisions and
absence of vegetables, predisposed the people to typhoid diseases, and
left them little chance of recovery when stricken down with pestilence.

The Great Plague arrived in England in 1348 from the shores of Italy,
whither it had been wafted from the East. It was probably carried to
the port of Bristol by travelling merchants, whence it spread with
alarming rapidity over the whole land. Whole villages were depopulated,
and about one-third of the people of England perished. It is difficult
for us to imagine the sorrow and universal suffering which the plague
caused. Its effects were, however, beneficial to the villagers who
survived. Naturally labourers became very scarce and were much sought
after. Wages rose enormously. The tenants and rustics discovered that
they were people of importance. Manor lords found it too expensive to
farm their lands, and were eager to hand them over to their tenants,
many of whom became much richer and more independent than formerly. The
spirit of independence pervaded all classes. There came to our village
many wandering friars, followers of Wiklif, who preached discontent to
the labouring rustics, told them that the gentry had no right to lord
it over them, that they were as good as their masters, who ought not to
live in fine houses in luxury supported by their toil and the sweat of
their brows. And when oppressive taxes were levied, the rustics
revolted, and gained much for which they strove. The golden age of the
English labourer set in, when food was cheap, wages high, and labour
abundant. A fat pig could be bought for fourpence, and three pounds of
beef for a penny; and in spite of occasional visits of the plague, the
villager's lot was by no means unhappy.

Here is a picture of village life in those days. The village church
stood in the centre of the hamlet, with a carefully made fence around
it, in order that no swine or foul beast might desecrate the graves.
Surrounded by the churchyard, with its yew tree and lich-gate, the
church was very similar to the old building wherein t