{"id":33457,"date":"2024-02-08T11:06:41","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T10:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=259389"},"modified":"2024-02-08T13:12:56","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T12:12:56","slug":"the-winter-storms-that-rocked-medieval-europe","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/the-winter-storms-that-rocked-medieval-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"The winter storms that rocked medieval Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Lucie Laumonier describes the harsh winters that hit western Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries, and the hardships they wrought on its inhabitants \u2013 from frozen rivers to devastated homes\u2026 <\/p>

By Elinor Evans\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 08 February 2024 at 10:06 AM<\/p>

\n\n

\u201cIt was so cold that bread, apples and pears, and all manner of food, froze solid and could not be cut or eaten until they had been warmed up and thawed out at a fire.\u201d This was the testimony of one Italian chronicler, writing about a terribly cold winter in 1215\u201316. The deep snow and freezing cold lasted two months, and concerns of food shortage and famine were looming.<\/p>\n

It was by no means an outlier in a period of plunging temperatures and deprivation that wracked medieval Europe.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Little Ice Age\u2019<\/h3>\n

In the winter of 1363\u201364, mainland Europe experienced unusually cold weather. In southern Europe, the shores of the Atlantic ocean near Bordeaux, France, as well as the Venetian lagoon and the Rh\u00f4ne\u2019s estuary, froze solid.<\/p>\n

The Rhine river was so deeply frozen that the people of Cologne were able to hold a market on the river. Near Mainz, the Rhine remained ice-bound for 70 days. In Belgium, the people of the town of Fosses witnessed a snow cover that lasted 100 days. That particular cold winter corresponds to the early stages of the \u2018Little Ice Age<\/a>\u2019, a cooling period that only dissipated in the 19th century.<\/p>\n

In Belgium, the people of the town of Fosses witnessed a snow cover that lasted 100 days <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>

Before the invention of the thermometer, which wouldn\u2019t come until the 17th century, medieval chroniclers could only describe the consequences of terribly cold winters. To differentiate regular winters from harsh winters, texts therefore accentuated the extraordinary nature of the weather, such as extreme cold, great snowfalls and enduring frosts. They highlighted the damages snow and ice caused to humans, animals, crops and infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Despite the difficult weather conditions, some texts showcased more fun moments associated with these terrible winters, when people went on to build snow towers and sculptures.<\/p>\n

\"A\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
A depiction of winter in an early-15th century Dutch village. (Photo by Pierce Archive LLC\/Buyenlarge via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

From c900 to the end of the 13th century, western Europe experienced a climatic optimum dubbed the \u2018medieval warm period\u2019. Mild weather enabled the settling and development of new arable lands. Agriculture was possible at higher latitudes and elevations than before. In England, for instance, grapes grew hundreds of miles north of their current range. During that period, winters were less severe, with fewer and lighter snowfalls, even if some winters proved to be especially harsh.<\/p>\n

By the early 14th century, the first signs of the Little Ice Age, an era of cooling, were noticeable on the continent. From 1304\u00ad\u201328 for example, Europe experienced a run of cold and very cold winters (meaning below average), some of which deemed \u201csevere\u201d by climate historians. One century later, people from western Europe experienced again a series of very cold winters, described in great detail in narrative texts. According to a classification index designed by climate historians, the winter seasons of 1431\u201332, 1432\u201333, 1434\u201335 and 1436\u201337 were \u201cextremely cold\u201d. In 1433\u201334 and 1437\u201338, winter was \u201cvery cold\u201d, while only once during that time, in 1435\u201336, was winter described as \u201cnot exceedingly cold\u201d. Chroniclers usually describe these winters as \u201cgrand froit\u201d in French, or \u201cfrigitas magna\u201d in Latin, meaning a great or enormous cold.<\/p>\n