Nottingham

Outperforming even the most voracious and ruthless human invaders, the Black Death decimated English towns of all sizes in the mid-fourteenth century, killing more than half of the population in places like Nottingham (a city in central England). Historians have long believed that many urban areas in medieval England experienced a long-term decline in their populations and their fortunes following this plague outbreak, possibly taking centuries to get fully back on track. But a new study by historian Scott C. Lomax challenges this notion. Harvesting data from court records, tax lists, and archaeological reports for the city of Nottingham, Lomax found that English cities rebounded far more quickly than expected, as migration and economic innovation helped them thrive despite the