The Black Death
Coming from the east, the Black Death reached Italy sometime in 1348. Because Italy, Venice in particular, was one of the great mercantile centers of Medieval Europe, the plague quickly spread along the trade routes of the continent, reaching England by 1349.

• 38-39 million people died (One quarter to one third of Europe’s population)

Some Sources

• Scientific Overview of the Black Death
• The Black Death and the Middle Ages
• The Black Death and England
• The Black Death, the Catholic Church, and the Reformation