the late medieval agrarian crisis and black death plague epidemic in medieval denmark

284 Pages·2006·1.97 MB·English

THE LATE MEDIEVAL AGRARIAN CRISIS AND BLACK DEATH PLAGUE
EPIDEMIC IN MEDIEVAL DENMARK: A PALEOPATHOLOGICAL AND
PALEODIETARY PERSPECTIVE

A Dissertation
by
CASSADY J. YODER

Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of
Texas A&M University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

August 2006

Major Subject: Anthropology
THE LATE MEDIEVAL AGRARIAN CRISIS AND BLACK DEATH PLAGUE

EPIDEMIC IN MEDIEVAL DENMARK: A PALEOPATHOLOGICAL AND
PALEODIETARY PERSPECTIVE

A Dissertation
by
CASSADY J. YODER

Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of
Texas A&M University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Approved by:

Chair of Committee, Lori E. Wright
Committee Members, Sheela Athreya
Filipe Vieira de Castro
Vivian Paul
Head of Department, David Carlson

August 2006

Major Subject: Anthropology
iii
ABSTRACT

The Late Medieval Agrarian Crisis and Black Death Plague Epidemic in Medieval
Denmark: A Paleopathological and Paleodietary Perspective. (August 2006)
Cassady J. Yoder, B.A., University of New Mexico
Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Lori Wright

The medieval period of Denmark (11th-16th centuries) witnessed two of the worst
demographic, health, and dietary catastrophes in history: the Late Medieval Agrarian
Crisis (LMAC) and the Black Death plague epidemic. Historians have argued that these
events resulted in a change in subsistence from a cereal grain to a more pastorally-
focused diet, and that the population decimation resulted in improved living conditions.
This dissertation bioarchaeologically examines the impact of these historically described
events on the diet and health of the population from Jutland, Denmark. I examine the
stable isotopic ratios of carbon and nitrogen, dental caries, cribra orbitalia, porotic
hyperostosis, periosteal reactions, and femur length to examine the samples for dietary
and health differences due to sex, time period, site and social status.
The results suggest that there are few chronological differences in diet or health in
these samples. There are greater disparities among the sites, as peasants from the rural
site had a more terrestrially-based diet and poorer health than the urban sites. While there
is little difference in diet by sex, there is a disparity in health between the sexes.
However, the direction of difference varies by site, suggesting that the relative treatment
of the sexes was not universal in Denmark. While the results indicate there is little
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difference in health by status, there are dietary differences, as elites had a more marine-
based diet than peasants.
This research indicates the importance of bioarchaeological analysis in the
interpretation of historical events. The recording of history is dependent on the viewpoint
of the recorder and may not accurately reflect the importance of events on the the
population itself. Bioarchaeological techniques examine skeletal material from the
individuals in question and may provide a better understanding of the consequences of
historic events on the population, such as the effects of the LMAC and Black Death on
the population of Denmark. This research reveals that, contrary to historical expectation,
these events did not have a measurable impact on Danish diet or health. Thus, the use of
historical documentation and bioarchaeological analyses provides a richer understanding
of these historical events.
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DEDICATION

For my family, both by blood and by love
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my committee chair, Dr. Lori Wright, and my committee
members, Dr. Sheela Athreya, Dr. Filipe Castro and Dr. Vivian Paul, for all of their help,
guidance and support; without them I would not have been able to conduct this research.
Specifically, I thank Lori Wright for her perserverance during the writing of this
dissertation and her mentoring of me throughout my graduate career; she has helped me
become a better anthropologist and scholar. Sheela Athreya has not only been of
amazing statistical help, but she has also been my best cheerleader and I thank her for her
constant support, enthusiasm and unwavering belief in me. Filipe Castro has been very
helpful in piecing together the often tricky business of historical research. I thank Vivian
Paul for her patient guidance on Cistercian life and culture and her enthusiasm for my
project.
I would also like to thank Dr. Jesper Boldsen, his lovely wife Ingrid, and their
children, for all of their help, support and goodwill during my stay in Denmark. In
addition, I would like to thank Jesper for access to the Øm Kloster, St. Mikkel and Ribe
skeletal material. I would also like to thank Bo Gregersen and the Øm Kloster Museum
for access to the lay and elite Øm Kloster skeletal material, and Dr. Pia Bennike and the
University of Copenhagen for access to the monastic skeletal material from Øm Kloster.
Lene Mollerup from the Øm Kloster Museum, Dr. Jesper Hjermind from the Viborg
Musuem and Dr. Jakob Kieffer-Olsen from the Ribe Museum have all been extremely
helpful providing information on the three sites I examined, and I thank them.
This research was supported by a dissertation improvement grant from the
National Science Foundation (BCS-0452672). Initial research and orientation to the
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ADBOU skeletal collections was made possible by the MSC L.T. Jordan Institue.
Laboratory preparation of the isotope samples was funded by the Melbern G. Glasscock
Center for Humanities Research. I gratefully acknowledge these institutions for their
support, without which this research would not have been possible. Isotopic analysis of
the human and faunal collagen samples was conducted by Dr. Tom Boutton in the
Department of Rangeland Ecology at Texas A&M University. Apatite samples from the
human and faunal bone samples were examined by Dr. Ethan Grossman in the
Department of Geology and Geophysics at Texas A&M University.
I would like to thank everyone in the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M
University. Specifically, I thank Dr. David Carlson for his statistical help, substituting on
my committee, and his general great advice throughout the years. Dr. Sharon Gursky has
also been a source of support, advice and laughter, and I thank her for her friendship
through the years. My first years at Texas A&M University were aided tremendously by
the guidance of Drs. Gentry Steele and Katherine Dettwyler.
I would like to thank Dr. Joseph Powell and Ann Carson for their early guidance
in my career as a physical anthropologist at the University of New Mexico. Joseph
Powell is an amazing teacher and his enthusiasm for his subject and teaching inspired me
to go to graduate school and teach. Ann Carson’s friendship and advice has been
invaluable to me both in both my time as an undergraduate and graduate student.
I would be nowhere without all of the love and support of my friends. Amador,
Andy, Eric, Jason and Maria are a great cohort, always supportive and never competitive,
and they helped make College Station a surprisingly great place to live. My girls Ashely,
Charlotte, Eleanor, Katie, Maria, and our honorary boy member Taras have listened to
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hours of venting and angst and helped to remind me what is important in life. They have
kept me sane and made me laugh and are the best friends, and support group, I could ever
want. Juan has been a great source of comfort during the final months of my writing,
without whom I would have lost my mind entirely.
Lastly, I can’t express how thankful I am for my family. They have always been
there for me: cheering me on when my spirits flagged, proud of me even when I did not
feel I deserved it, and always supportive of my decision to embark on this crazy process.
They never asked when I would be done, but always had faith that I would finish. For all
this, and so much more, I thank them.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page

ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................iii

DEDICATION.....................................................................................................v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS.....................................................................................ix

LIST OF FIGURES.............................................................................................xiii

LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................xiv

CHAPTER

I INTRODUCTION.............................................................................1

II A BRIEF HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL DENMARK.........................7

Women in Scandinavia.............................................................8
The Early Medieval Period of Denmark...................................9
The Little Ice Age and Late Medieval Agrarian Crisis.............17
The Black Death.......................................................................18
The Late Medieval Period of Denmark....................................22
Summary...................................................................................28

III MEDIEVAL DIET AND HEALTH..................................................30

Diet in Medieval Europe...........................................................30
Health in Medieval Europe.......................................................41
Conclusions...............................................................................48

IV RESEARCH DESIGN.......................................................................50

Site Descriptions.......................................................................50
The Osteological Paradox.........................................................59
Research Questions and Hypotheses........................................62
Dating Technique......................................................................67
Sample Demography.................................................................68
Conclusions...............................................................................71
x
CHAPTER Page

V STABLE ISOTOPIC RECONSTRUCTIONS OF MEDIEVAL
DANISH DIET..................................................................................73

Methods and Hypotheses..........................................................82
Examination of Sample Diagenesis..........................................85
Stable Isotope Sample...............................................................87
Results.......................................................................................88
Discussion.................................................................................103
Conclusions...............................................................................108

VI DENTAL CARIES............................................................................110

Methods and Hypotheses..........................................................113
Results.......................................................................................116
Discussion.................................................................................125
Conclusions...............................................................................129

VII CRIBRA ORBITALIA AND POROTIC HYPEROSTOSIS............131

Methods.....................................................................................136
Hypotheses................................................................................138
Results.......................................................................................139
Discussion.................................................................................147
Conclusions...............................................................................150

VIII PERIOSTEAL REACTIONS............................................................151

Hypotheses................................................................................158
Periosteal Reaction Scoring Methods.......................................160
Results.......................................................................................162
Discussion.................................................................................179
Conclusions...............................................................................184

IX STATURE..........................................................................................186

Methods.....................................................................................189
Results.......................................................................................190
Discussion and Conclusions.....................................................198