History · Year 7 · Crisis and Change: The 14th Century · Summer Term

The Great Famine of 1315-1317: Causes

Understanding how climate change and crop failure brought Europe to the brink of collapse before the plague.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS3: History - Social and Economic History
• KS3: History - Crisis in the 14th Century

About This Topic

The Great Famine of 1315-1317 struck medieval Europe amid the onset of the Little Ice Age, a period of cooler, wetter weather that ruined harvests across the continent. Heavy rains from summer 1314 through 1316 turned fields into swamps, destroying wheat, oats, and barley crops essential to the diet. Students explore how this climate shift, combined with overpopulation straining food supplies, pushed societies toward starvation.

Medieval agriculture amplified the crisis through practices like the three-field system, which left one-third of land fallow each year, and reliance on marginal soils. Lords demanded high rents from peasants, leaving little surplus for hard times. Population growth since 1000 had outpaced technological advances, making Europe vulnerable when yields dropped by half or more.

This topic connects to broader 14th-century crises, setting the stage for the Black Death. Active learning benefits students here because simulations of crop failure decisions and source analysis of chronicles make distant events feel immediate. Hands-on debates about farming choices build empathy and critical thinking about cause and effect.

Key Questions

1. Analyze the role of the 'Little Ice Age' in causing the Great Famine.
2. Explain the agricultural practices that made medieval Europe vulnerable to famine.
3. Predict the social and economic consequences of widespread crop failure.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the impact of persistent rainfall on medieval crop yields using historical data.
• Explain how specific agricultural techniques of the 14th century increased vulnerability to crop failure.
• Compare the food security of different social classes in England during the Great Famine.
• Predict the immediate social and economic consequences of widespread crop failure in a medieval context.

Before You Start

Medieval Society and Social Structure

Why: Students need to understand the roles of peasants, lords, and the general social hierarchy to grasp the differential impact of the famine.

Basic Medieval Farming Techniques

Why: Understanding the fundamentals of medieval agriculture, like crop rotation and common tools, is essential to analyze the vulnerabilities exposed by the famine.

Key Vocabulary

Little Ice Age	A period of colder and wetter weather that began around the 14th century, significantly impacting agricultural productivity across Europe.
Three-field system	A medieval farming practice where one-third of arable land was left fallow each year to restore fertility, a system that reduced overall food production potential.
Marginal land	Land that is less suitable for farming due to poor soil quality, steep slopes, or difficult climate, often the first to fail during adverse weather.
Subsistence farming	A type of agriculture where farmers focus on growing enough food to feed their own families, with little or no surplus to sell.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

The famine resulted only from sudden bad weather, like a single storm.

What to Teach Instead

Cooler temperatures and prolonged rains marked the Little Ice Age's start, compounding over years. Role-playing weather sequences helps students see cumulative effects, while group timelines correct isolated event views.

Common Misconception

Medieval farmers used advanced techniques that should have prevented famine.

What to Teach Instead

The three-field system and oxen plows limited flexibility against climate shifts. Hands-on model building reveals inefficiencies, and debates on alternatives foster understanding of historical constraints.

Common Misconception

Famine affected only peasants, sparing towns and nobles.

What to Teach Instead

Starvation hit all classes as trade collapsed and prices soared. Simulations of market disruptions show widespread impact, encouraging students to trace economic chains.

Active Learning Ideas

Source Analysis: Weather Chronicles

Provide excerpts from monastic records describing endless rain and failed crops. Students highlight evidence of climate impacts in pairs, then share with the class to build a shared timeline. Conclude with a vote on the strongest cause.

30 min·Pairs

Farmer Dilemma Cards

Distribute cards outlining medieval farming choices, such as crop rotation or soil type. Small groups debate and rank decisions by risk, using dice to simulate weather outcomes. Groups present their survival strategies.

45 min·Small Groups

Famine Mapping Activity

Students plot famine reports on a Europe outline map using colored pins for crop types and weather data. Discuss patterns in whole class, connecting local impacts to continental scale. Add prediction arrows for social effects.

35 min·Whole Class

Agricultural Model Build

Individuals construct simple three-field system models with clay fields and yarn fences. Test 'rain' with water sprays to show flooding risks, then journal vulnerabilities.

40 min·Individual

Real-World Connections

• Modern climate scientists, like those at the Met Office in the UK, study past climate events, such as the Little Ice Age, to understand long-term climate patterns and their effects on ecosystems and human societies.
• Agricultural economists analyze crop yields and market prices to predict the impact of extreme weather events, like droughts or floods, on global food security and commodity markets.
• Historians specializing in food history examine records of grain prices, mortality rates, and trade routes to reconstruct the lived experiences of populations during historical famines, such as the Great Famine or the Irish Potato Famine.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Provide students with a blank map of England. Ask them to shade regions most likely to suffer from crop failure based on their soil type and elevation, and write one sentence explaining their choices. Then, ask them to list two specific crops that would have been most affected.

Discussion Prompt

Pose the question: 'If you were a peasant farmer in 1315, what single decision would you prioritize to survive the famine: saving seed for next year, eating your livestock, or migrating?' Facilitate a class debate where students justify their choices using evidence about medieval farming and the famine's conditions.

Quick Check

Present students with three short primary source excerpts (e.g., from chronicles describing the weather, rent demands, or food shortages). Ask them to identify which excerpt best illustrates a cause of the famine and explain why, citing specific phrases from the text.

Frequently Asked Questions

What caused the Great Famine of 1315-1317?

Unusually cold and wet weather from the Little Ice Age drowned crops in 1315-1316, slashing yields by up to 75 percent. Overpopulation and rigid farming like the three-field system left no buffer. Chronicles record two years of rain, leading to livestock death and human starvation across England, France, and beyond.

How did medieval agriculture contribute to the famine?

The three-field system fallowed one-third of land yearly, reducing output. Peasants grew monocrops on poor soils with basic tools, vulnerable to flood. High population demanded every harvest, so one failure cascaded into crisis, forcing reliance on rotting grain and bark.

What was the Little Ice Age?

A cooling period from about 1300 to 1850, starting with the famine's rains. Volcanic activity and solar minima likely caused it, dropping temperatures 1-2 degrees Celsius. This shifted weather patterns, shortening growing seasons and enabling later events like the 14th-century plague.

How can active learning help teach the Great Famine causes?

Activities like building farm models or simulating rain on fields let students experience crop vulnerability firsthand. Group debates on peasant choices reveal systemic issues, while mapping connects climate data to consequences. These methods make abstract history concrete, boosting retention and critical analysis of causation.