Hell on Earth: The Great Famine of 1315-1317

Between 1315 and 1317 much of Europe suffered a horrific famine, which has subsequently come to be known to historians as the Great Famine. In addition to the Hundred Years War between England and France, and the Black Death, the Great Famine comprises part of what is known as the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages. Starting in 1315 with a general cooling of the European climate, the growing season shortened, and eventually crops failed completely. For two years (and really, several more up until about 1322) there was a severe lack of food, not helped by torrential rain storms which made it difficult to procure salt for preservation of any food that could be had. The total loss of life is estimated at somewhere between thirty and forty million, and affected an area stretching from the Alps, to the British Isles & Ireland, to lower Scandinavia, right through Poland and the Baltic region.

SOURCES:

The Great Famine of 1315, 1316, and 1317, Lucas
The Great Famine, Jordan
The Worlds of Medieval Europe, Backman