Did The Black Death Constitute A Historical Turning Point?

To what extent did The Black Death constitute a historical turning point?

The death of a significant proportion of Eurasia’s population due to a devastating pandemic is unquestionably a definitive moment in history. However perhaps it could be contended that, whilst this grim disease instigated cataclysmic change within society, the plague was primarily a short-term turning point as it only limitedly delivered some long-term or extensive alterations in history. Indeed in many cases it appears that the Black Death immediately affected the economy, political, cultural and social systems at the time, yet is limited as a long-term turning point because it merely catalysing the timing and speed of any long term changes. Some historians such as
A. Gasquet stated, the surge of mortality among the working class invoked 'nothing less than a complete social revolution; to use a modern expression, labour began then to understand its value and assert its power.' [4] Labourers, peasants and servants alike attained more social mobility and bargaining power, and more employment opportunities opened up for women. Furthermore everyday people began wearing items of apparel which would have been deemed excessive for their social standing. Individuals also began to to revolt if they felt that their chances of self improvement were denied, as seen by the French Jacquerie and the English peasant revolts in 1381. As everyday people became more socially mobile, some historians such as Rosemary Horrox suggest that the feudal system effectively collapsed as societies respect for social hierarchy and order diminished [5]. Thus in this aspect it could be argued that the Black Plague helped to accelerate a trend in social and political
Legislation was also utilised through the Sumptory Law of 1363, in an attempt to regulate diet and apparel according to social status. To an extent it could be argued that the plague was a decisive moment through which people began attempts to attain greater rights and justice within the workplace, in turn perhaps foreshadowing the growth of modern day’s labour unions. However as the population replenished, a social hierarchy was re-established and pre-existing mechanisms of social and political order prevailed. Religious and cultural values were also affected by this horrifying disease. Some churches were left bereft of their priests, deserted by their people and it seemed that societies moral standards deteriorated as covetousness became typical. In other cases some people, particularly those suffering from the disease, sought for repentance, and were increasingly compelled to devote their remaining hours to exercise religious