Page "Edward III of England" Paragraph 15

After the fall of Calais, factors outside of Edward's control forced him to wind down the war effort.

In 1348, the Black Death struck England with full force, killing a third or more of the country's population.

This loss of manpower led to a shortage of farm labour, and a corresponding rise in wages.

The great landowners struggled with the shortage of manpower and the resulting inflation in labour cost.

To curb the rise in wages, the king and parliament responded with the Ordinance of Labourers in 1349, followed by the Statute of Labourers in 1351.

These attempts to regulate wages could not succeed in the long run, but in the short term they were enforced with great vigour.

All in all, the plague did not lead to a full-scale breakdown of government and society, and recovery was remarkably swift.

This was to a large extent thanks to the competent leadership of royal administrators such as Treasurer William de Shareshull and Chief Justice William Edington.