In the two short years of major outbreak, the Black Death brought many social and economic innovations to medieval Europe. A shortage of laborers drove up wages and drained the feudal estates of their workers, millions of whom sought a better living in the cities once the plague had passed. By loosening the ties that had bound peasants to the land, the Black Death weakened the semi-independent feudal lords who vied with the kings for power and influence. In this way, the plague brought about a centralization of power in the hands of the monarchs.

The plague also had far-ranging effects on European agriculture and environment. With the population of cultivators in sharp decline, crop fields were replaced by new pastures for herds of sheep and cows. The forests of Europe slowly recovered from centuries of overcutting as well.

The...