How did the Black Death of the 1300s impact on people’s view of God - and how COVID has done the same in England

Author Andrea Sarginson explains the devastating effect the Black Death had on people’s faith in the 1300s and compares it to how people responded to the COVID pandemic.

My first medieval novel was published on February 20, 2020. Soon after, I found myself in a similar position to my characters in 1349 – waiting and fearing the arrival of a devastating pandemic. I wondered if the church, would be challenged as it had been then and if people’s perception of God would be altered.

I now think our benighted counterparts were not a lot different from us in thought. They pondered if this was the end – if not of the world, of ourselves and our loved ones – just as we did. Like us, they sought causes and prevention. However, a huge difference was in the amount of medical knowledge we have today – and I wonder if that has changed how we think about God in extreme situations.