气候、瘟疫与人口——对中古后期英国人口运动的一个考察

13世纪末14世纪初,英国社会的人口压力增大。面对这种压力,人们进行了积极的应对调整。这种调整,首先表现在人们对生育能力的节制上,其次表现在农业耕作方式从粗放型向集约化的变革上,其中后者尤其重要。但是,在13世纪,随着小冰川期的来临,气候逐渐变坏,这就给人们的应对行为带来了困难。更为严重的是,突如其来的黑死病夺走了大量的人口,打断了人们的应对进程。

Climate、Plague and Population--A Study on the Population Movement in Late Medieval England

From the end of 13th century to the beginning of the 14th century, the Population Pressure became serious. In the face of difficulty, the People adjusted themselves vigorously. Firstly, they reflected in the birth control of People; secondly and more important, they transformed from extensive cultivation to intensive farming. However, in the 13th century, human beings’ adjustment faced great difficulty, because of the deterioration of weather. And what’s more severely, as an emergency, the Black Death broke in the adjustment impossible.