Plague Strikes Back: The <i>Pestis Secunda</i> of 1361–62 and Its Demographic Consequences in England and Wales

This article looks at the demographic contours and impact of the pestis secunda—the second wave of the Second Plague Pandemic—which ravaged England and Wales in 1361–62. The study is based on a rich corpus of statistical data deriving from manorial records—primarily court rolls, but also inquisitions postmortem and episcopal registers—on a national level. A close analysis of the data reveals that the wave in question tended to discriminate across regions, socioeconomic statuses, and genders. The study’s findings are then considered within a wider context of ongoing historiographical debates related to the total size of the English population before and after the Black Death. It argues that the population size of England on the eve of the Black Death was higher than often argued, and that the impact of the pestis secunda was harsher than often assumed. The evidence suggests that it was the pestis secunda, rather than the Black Death, that had severe, long-term demographic and socioeconomic repercussions for England and Wales.