Growth. The beginnings of the Renaissance coincided with one of the greatest social and economic tragedies in history. The population of Europe grew steadily through the Middle Ages and seemed to be accelerating at the dawn of the fourteenth century. Between 1250 and 1300 it grew by more than 40 percent to around seventy million people, an annual percentage rate gain of 0.41 percent. However, in 1315 a devastating famine hit northern Europe, a sign that the fortunate circumstances producing population growth were coming to an end. After the famine ended in 1322, the population again began to creep upward, but at a slower annual percentage rate of 0.14 percent. By 1350, there were around seventy-four million Europeans, probably the greatest number there had ever been.

The Black Death. In 1347 that upward trend came to a sudden halt when the bubonic plague came to Europe from the Middle...