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Which rulers and famous people died during the Black Death?

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The Black Death was a devastating pandemic that did not spare the powerful or the famous, despite their greater ability to flee affected areas. Notable figures who succumbed to the plague during this period included:1

  • Royalty: Eleanor, queen of Peter IV of Aragon; King Alfonso XI of Castile; and Joan, daughter of the English king Edward III.1
  • Religious Leaders: Two successive archbishops of Canterbury, John de Stratford and Thomas Bradwardine, died during the outbreak.1
  • Artists and Intellectuals: The Sienese painters Ambrogio and Pietro Lorenzetti died, effectively ending the development of the first Sienese school. Additionally, Petrarch lost his muse, Laura, and his patron, Giovanni Cardinal Colonna.1

The pandemic also significantly reduced the size of the papal court at Avignon, which lost one-fourth of its members.1