This study suggests that the recurrent plagues of the fourteenth-century constituted events of major importance, which not only sped the process of feudal decline, but had lasting consequences for the political, social and economic spectrums of subsequent English history. The destructive nature of the black Death will be demonstrated by presentation of contemporary accounts, etiological evidence and determinations of the demographic deficit. It will then be shown how this microbial disease changed the landscape of the time and accelerated the growth of towns and industry. The toll in Church ranks will be viewed as a stimulant to movements for reform. The political reaction to the results of the plague saw repeated attempts made to recreate the past which ultimately led to social disturbances. It will then be seen that plague was definitely a force for change and an important threshold between medieval and modern eras.