Page:Landholding in England.djvu/37

 of wind and tide, and drifted ashore, bringing the Black Death with them—their crews all dead.

In England it first appeared at a Dorset seaport on the 1st of August 1348. It spread through Devon and Somerset to Bristol—thence to Gloucester, Oxford, London, and so northward. Seven thousand died in Great Yarmouth. Scotland at first escaped, but the Scots, thinking to take advantage of their plague-stricken enemy, crossed the border. They were repelled, and the plague fell upon them, destroyed the invading army, and spread through Scotland. Ireland was but lightly visited.

For one whole year it raged in England. We are told that as a rule the sick died in three days. It was observed that the young and strong perished, the old and feeble escaped. The living were hardly able to bury the dead. In Norwich 57,304 persons died, "besides religious and beggars." The ecclesiastical records which have come down to us show that somewhat over half of the clergy fell victims. The Diocesan Institution Book of Norwich records 863 institutions to Church livings that year. At the request of the Bishop, Pope Clement VI. issued a bull, allowing the instituting to rectories of clerks only twenty-one years of age—the reason given being fear lest divine service should cease, as there were 1000 parishes in the diocese without priests. Three Archbishops of Canterbury died in that one year. The Abbot of Westminster and twenty-six of his monks were buried together in a common grave in the south cloister of the Abbey. High and low perished—a daughter of the King died of the plague. In London, from Candlemas to Easter, 200 were buried daily. As the burying-grounds could not suffice, the Bishop of London bought the plot called "No-man's-land," and gave it for a "pest-pit," and Sir Walter Manny gave the Spittle Croft—where afterwards he founded the Charterhouse. 50,000 corpses were buried in layers in one of these "pest-pits" alone. The sitting of Parliament was suspended. The King's Bench was closed. The 13,000 students of Oxford were dispersed.

In country places, many whole villages were depopulated. A dreadful murrain broke out in cattle and sheep. The cattle wandered about without herdsmen, and died by thousands, and it was said that the birds of prey would