It Seems That Living in the Middle Ages Wasn't So Bad

This is a pretty interesting study that kind of changes the perception of living in the Middle Ages.

He said a figure of $400 annually (as expressed in 1990 international dollars) is commonly is used as a measure of bare bones subsistence and was previously believed to be the average income in England in the Middle Ages.

But the researchers found that English per capita incomes in the late Middle Ages were actually of the order of $1,000.

Even on the eve of the Black Death plague, which first struck in 1348/49, the researchers found per capita incomes in England of more than $800.

A per capita income of double the subsistence rate is better then quite a few really poor nations today. It even allows people to put some money away for the next generation or sock some away for tough times. I know the Black Death paved the way for quite a bit of economic expansion because land was cheap and plentiful due to farmers dying. Also trade was quite pronounced in the Middle Ages as well. It is nice to see that with more scholarship on the issue we see that perceptions change.