Did the Black Death Kill Half of Europe’s Population?

A summary of Did the ‘Black Death’ Really Kill Half of Europe? New Research Says No.

The conventional wisdom is that the Black Death killed half of Europe’s population. A 2021 study, based on various documents, estimated that 65% of the population died. A study that estimated Black Death mortality from pollen tells a different story. Mortality varied by region, and it even estimates that there were regions where the population actually grew. This conclusion comes from examining whether the pollen accumulated in the mud came from crops or from trees. If many people had died, farming and herding would have been impossible, and the farmland and pastures would have turned into forest.

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