Research Sam Geens

Abstract

In recent years, the European Marriage Pattern (EMP) has taken centre stage in the big debates on modern economic growth and the Little Divergence. Its demographic characteristics and underlying mechanisms supposedly enhanced the market participation of women, especially unmarried singles, in north-western Europe. According to some historians, EMP and its related opportunities first emerged in the wake of the Black Death. However, empirical evidence for these bold claims is severely lacking. Serial data on nuptiality and fertility is only available from the seventeenth century on, when parish registers became widespread. By that time, the features of EMP were already outspoken. As a result, the fundamental period of transition remains obscured. This research project therefore provides, for the first time, serial data on the period between 1300 and 1600 thanks to an innovative approach to orphan and tax registers. It retraces marriage patterns in the County of Flanders, one of the core regions of EMP. By looking at the variation within this limited area, the project aims to deconstruct the idea of a universal and empowering evolution of EMP in north-western Europe. In the process, it will uncover the social, demographic, and economic conditions that gave rise to this pattern and analyse its development, including the effects on unmarried women. The results hold the potential to reshape the grand narratives at the crossroad of demographic and socio-economic history.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Stabel Peter
• Fellow: Geens Sam

Research team(s)

• Centre for Urban History

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Did the Black Death result in a golden age for labour? Killing almost one third of the population, the mortality crisis caused a radical change in the relative value of land, capital and labour. Indeed, no other time before Industrialisation would witness such a rapid increase in real wages. Consequently, generations of historians have characterised the period between 1350 and 1500 as a golden age for labour. However, recent literature on pre-modern income formation casts serious doubts on such a straightforward interpretation. The real wage series, on which the theory is based, are hardly representative for real income levels and ever since the 1970's-1980's no new approaches to this problem have been developed. This research project, therefore, introduces a creative solution that will allow us to retrace the impact of the Black Death on income distribution. On the one hand, the narrow focus of the real wage series is replaced with a socially more diversified framework, including the gains of self-employed middle groups. On the other hand, a comparative perspective between Flanders and Tuscany will question the universal effects of the mortality crisis, and instead highlight the role of regional and intraregional economic and institutional divergences. As a result, this research project will lead to a critical rethinking of the longstanding paradigm of a golden age for labour.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Soens Tim
• Co-promoter: Blondé Bruno
• Fellow: Geens Sam

Research team(s)

• Centre for Urban History

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Did the Black Death result in a golden age for labour? Killing almost one third of the population, the mortality crisis caused a radical change in the relative value of land, capital and labour. Indeed, no other time before Industrialisation would witness such a rapid increase in real wages. Consequently, generations of historians have characterised the period between 1350 and 1500 as a golden age for labour. However, recent literature on pre-modern income formation casts serious doubts on such a straightforward interpretation. The real wage series, on which the theory is based, are hardly representative for real income levels and ever since the 1970's-1980's no new approaches to this problem have been developed. This research project, therefore, introduces a creative solution that will allow us to retrace the impact of the Black Death on income distribution. On the one hand, the narrow focus of the real wage series is replaced with a socially more diversified framework, including the gains of self-employed middle groups. On the other hand, a comparative perspective between Flanders and Tuscany will question the universal effects of the mortality crisis, and instead highlight the role of regional and intraregional economic and institutional divergences. As a result, this research project will lead to a critical rethinking of the longstanding paradigm of a golden age for labour.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Soens Tim
• Co-promoter: Blondé Bruno
• Fellow: Geens Sam

Research team(s)

• Centre for Urban History

Project type(s)

• Research Project