section_path: Background/Calamities
section_name: Calamities
paragraph_text: Calamities
  
  Europe experienced a period of dreadful calamities from the early 14th century. These culminated in a devastating pandemic known as the Black Death hit Europe, killing about one third of the population. Around 1500, the population of Europe was about 60–85 million people—no more than 75 per cent of the mid-14th-century demographic maximum. Due to a shortage of workforce, the landlords began to restrict the rights of their tenants which led to rural revolts that often ended with a compromise.
  
  The constant fear of unexpected death was mirrored by popular artistic motifs, such as the allegory of danse macabre ('dance of death'). The fear also contributed to the growing popularity of Masses for the dead. Already detectable among early Christians, these ceremonies indicated a widespread belief in purgatory —a transitory state for souls that needed purification before entering heaven. Fear of malevolent magical practice was also growing, and witch-hunts intensified.
  
  From the end of the 15th century, a new, sexually transmitted infection spread in Europe. This was syphilis that destroyed its victims' looks with ulcers and scabs before killing them. Along with the French invasion of Italy, the syphilis gave the background to the success of the charismatic preacher Girolamo Savonarola (d. 1498) who called for a moral renewal in Florence. He was arrested and executed for heresy, but his meditations remained a popular reading.