How did European social and political life change as a result of the Black Death?

Originating from the name “the bubonic plague”, which mainly had it's affect on rodents which carried on through fleas who then transmitted the disease to humans. Once a person had been plague-ridden it was likely to spread very fast to others. The bubonic plague known for it's “buboes” (lumps) that would appear on an infected person's body also took on pneumonic and septicemic forms as well. You may be wondering how life was for a victim that was deseased? It started with a headache then chills and high fever, which left one extremely tired and powerless. The infected may experience nausea, vomitting, body pain, and soreness                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        in the arms and legs.

Killing 25% - 50% of Europe's population and causing or accelerating marked political, econmic, social, and cultural changes. People were astounded, bewildered, and terrified (Gottfried,p.13). Fields went untouched because the labors were effected by the disease and food could not be brought in to feed people because the manpower vanished. Animals either were lost or died because their owners were not around to tend to them. It became so brutal that on October 18, 1351, The Ordinance of Labors was published which limited the freedom of peasants to move around in search of lucrative work.

The economic impact of the Black Death was major. Due to the deaths of so many people, wages rose dramatically, giving the working class some chance of improving the condition of their own employment. Agricultural prices had fallen quickly jeopardizing the fortunes and power of the aristocracy whose wealth was based on land. The death of so many people concentrated wealth  in the hands of survivors. In many cases, those workers who remained alive could earn up to five times what they had earned before the plague (Zapotoczny,p.2).