The horrors of the Great Famine (1315-1322), one of the severest catastrophes ever to strike northern Europe, lived on for centuries in the minds of Europeans who recalled tales of widespread hunger, class warfare, epidemic disease, frighteningly high mortality, and unspeakable crimes. This work offers a perspective of what daily life was actually like throughout the entire region devastated by this crisis and also looks at its causes. It is a comprehensive enquiry into the Famine from Ireland to West Poland, from Scandinavia to central France and western Germany. The author produces a cultural history of medieval community life, drawing his evidence from such sources as metereological and agricultural records, accounts kept by monastaries providing for the needy, and documentation of military campaigns.