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How did the Black Death change the use of farmland and pasture in Europe?

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Medieval illustration of Brotherhood of the Cross flagellants in robes and pointed hats walking in procession, some carrying a crucifix and banners, during the Black Death. — Black Death Flagellants in the Netherlands scourging themselves in atonement, believing that the Black Death is a punishment from God for their sins, 1349.

The Black Death, which devastated Europe between 1347 and 1351, caused a drastic reduction in the total amount of land under cultivation due to the massive loss of life among the laboring population. This widespread depopulation led to the abandonment of many rural areas, with England alone seeing the disappearance or significant depopulation of approximately 1,000 villages.1

The resulting labor shortage fundamentally altered the relationship between landowners and the peasantry. To retain tenants and ensure their land remained productive, many landlords were compelled to move away from traditional labor services, instead substituting them with wages or money rents. This shift contributed to the decline of the feudal system and brought a new, albeit difficult, fluidity to social structures. While the immediate aftermath saw a slump in agricultural production, the long-term economic pressures eventually encouraged a transition toward more capital-intensive land management and, in some regions, the conversion of former plowland into pastures as the economy adjusted to the new demographic reality.2134