The Black Death

The Statute of Labourers

The Statute of Labourers, enacted by the English Parliament in 1351, was the most famous and most consequential piece of labour legislation in medieval Europe. Designed to control the wage increases and labour mobility that followed the Black Death, the statute was a response by the ruling class to the economic transformations that threatened their interests. Its failure to achieve its objectives demonstrated the limits of government power in the face of market forces and contributed to the social unrest that characterised the post-plague period.

The Context of the Statute

The Statute of Labourers was enacted three years after the Black Death reached England, at a time when the labour shortages created by mass mortality were driving wages to unprecedented levels. Landlords, who formed the dominant class in Parliament, were facing a crisis: the cost of hiring workers to farm their demesnes had risen dramatically, while the prices of agricultural produce had fallen as demand contracted.

An ordinance issued in 1349, two years before the statute, had already attempted to address the problem. The ordinance required all able-bodied workers to accept employment at pre-plague wage rates and prohibited employers from offering higher wages. However, the ordinance was widely flouted, and the Parliament of 1351 enacted a more comprehensive and more punitive statute.

The Provisions of the Statute

The Statute of Labourers contained several key provisions. First, it required all able-bodied men and women, whether free or unfree, to accept work at the wage rates that had prevailed in 1346 — the year before the plague reached England. Workers who refused to accept these rates were subject to imprisonment.

Second, the statute prohibited employers from offering wages higher than the prescribed rates. Employers who violated this provision were subject to fines of double the amount paid.

Third, the statute restricted the movement of workers. Labourers were prohibited from leaving their home villages in search of higher wages elsewhere, and those who did so were subject to arrest and imprisonment.

Fourth, the statute regulated the prices of food and other goods, in an attempt to control the inflation that had accompanied the wage increases.

Enforcement and Evasion

The enforcement of the Statute of Labourers was the responsibility of local justices of the peace, who were typically landowners themselves and had a direct interest in controlling labour costs. The justices held special sessions to hear cases under the statute, and thousands of workers were prosecuted in the decades following its enactment.

However, the statute was largely ineffective in controlling wages. The economic forces driving wage increases — the fundamental scarcity of labour — were too powerful to be suppressed by law. Workers found numerous ways to evade the statute: they accepted wages in kind (food, clothing, lodging) rather than in cash, which was harder to regulate; they negotiated perquisites (additional benefits) that supplemented their official wages; and they simply moved to areas where enforcement was lax.

Employers, desperate for labour, were often willing to pay higher wages despite the legal prohibitions. The fines for violation were often too small to deter offenders, and the complexity of proving that a wage exceeded the prescribed rate made prosecution difficult.

The Social Consequences

The Statute of Labourers generated deep resentment among the labouring classes. Workers who had experienced the benefits of higher wages and greater freedom saw the statute as an unjust attempt by the ruling class to deprive them of the fruits of the new economic conditions. The statute became a symbol of the government’s hostility to the interests of ordinary people, and it was cited as a grievance in the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.

The statute also contributed to the erosion of trust between the ruling class and the labouring population. The attempt to use the power of the state to suppress wages demonstrated that the government was not a neutral arbiter but an instrument of class interest. This perception fuelled the radicalism of the post-plague period and contributed to the willingness of workers to challenge the established order.

Similar Legislation in Other Countries

England was not alone in attempting to control post-plague wages. Similar legislation was enacted across Europe. In France, the royal government issued ordinances regulating wages and prices. In the German lands, municipal councils and territorial princes enacted labour laws. In Italy, city-states passed statutes controlling the wages of artisans and labourers.

The effectiveness of these laws varied by region and local circumstances. In general, they were no more successful than the English statute in controlling wages, and they generated similar resentment among the labouring classes. The universal failure of post-plague labour legislation demonstrated the limits of government power in the face of market forces.

The Long-Term Significance

The Statute of Labourers and similar legislation across Europe represent one of the earliest examples of government intervention in the labour market. They established a precedent for the regulation of wages and working conditions that would be invoked repeatedly in the following centuries.

The statute also illustrates the tension between economic freedom and social stability that has characterised labour relations throughout history. The attempt to freeze wages at pre-plague levels was motivated by a desire to maintain the social order that had existed before the catastrophe. Its failure demonstrated that the old order could not be preserved by law alone and that the economic transformations set in motion by the Black Death were irreversible.