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The Third Horseman: Climate Change and the Great Famine of the 14th Century Hardcover – May 15, 2014

by William Rosen (Author)

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How a seven-year cycle of rain, cold, disease, and warfare created the worst famine in European history

In May 1315, it started to rain. It didn’t stop anywhere in north Europe until August. Next came the four coldest winters in a millennium. Two separate animal epidemics killed nearly 80 percent of northern Europe’s livestock. Wars between Scotland and England, France and Flanders, and two rival claimants to the Holy Roman Empire destroyed all remaining farmland. After seven years, the combination of lost harvests, warfare, and pestilence would claim six million lives—one eighth of Europe’s total population.

William Rosen draws on a wide array of disciplines, from military history to feudal law to agricultural economics and climatology, to trace the succession of traumas that caused the Great Famine. With dramatic appearances by Scotland’s William Wallace, and the luckless Edward II and his treacherous Queen Isabella, history’s best documented episode of catastrophic climate change comes alive, with powerful implications for future calamities.

The Third Horseman: Climate Change and the Great Famine of the 14th Century

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Product Details

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Viking; First Edition edition (May 15, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0670025895
ISBN-13: 978-0670025893
Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.1 x 9.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #507,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #115 in Books > Science & Math > Agricultural Sciences > History
- #871 in Books > History > World > Civilization & Culture
- #3131 in Books > History > Europe > Great Britain

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Customer Reviews

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3 star		11%
2 star		6%
1 star		8%

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53 of 55 people found the following review helpful

Misleading title

By George Hariton on July 28, 2014

Format: Hardcover

Misleading title

This book is mostly a history of the struggles between Kings Edward I and Edward II of England, Scottish leaders William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, and Phillip and Charles of France. There is lots on the intrigues, and battles, and changing alliances. It's a good, fun read if you want a history of English royalty in the early fourteenth century.

But the book has very little to do with climate change and famine. Yes, these are discussed here and there, but mostly as background to the royal disputes of the time. When they are discussed, the explanations are very terse, and did not help me -- I had to turn elsewhere for more detail. If I were cynical, I would guess that the bits on climate and famine were added later, so as to dress up the book and make it more attractive given today's concerns.

That said, the book is well written and a very easy read.

I would give it four stars as a traditional history of Kings Edward I and II. As a discussion of climate change and famine seven hundred years ago, I would give it one star. Over all, given the deceptive title, I'll go with two stars.

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29 of 32 people found the following review helpful

Climate Change And History

By John D. Cofield TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on June 28, 2014

Format: Hardcover

Ever since Barbara Tuchman's acclaimed A Distant Mirror was published in the late 1970s the term "calamitous fourteenth century" has been used to describe the almost limitless number of catastrophes that affected the Northern Hemisphere, particularly Western Europe, during that century. Tuchman's focus was primarily on the political and military disasters which afflicted Europeans, but she also went into great and fascinating detail on the bubonic plague epidemic which killed millions in the middle of the century, with less attention to the Great Famine of the first few decades. Conversely, Brian Fagan's book The Little Ice Age, published in the 1990s, gave more attention to the climatic changes which led to the famine and the ensuing social instability. Now William Rosen has done a deft job of combining the best of Tuchman and Fagan, giving us a history of the early fourteenth century which includes much of what in recent years has become better known about climatic changes and their impact on human societies.

Rosen sets the stage by giving us a good overall view of the effect of the Medieval Warm Period, an era of mild temperatures and plentiful rainfall that lasted about five hundred years from the 800s to the early 1300s. During the MWP Europe's population grew apace, organized societies developed as trade revived and wealth grew. By the end of the MWP Europe was more prosperous and better populated than ever before, but with a reliance on agricultural techniques that were barely able to supply sufficient food to the larger population in good years. Anything that adversely affected crop production was liable to create a catastrophe.

That's precisely what happened in the early 1300s, when weather patterns shifted.Read more ›

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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

How climate change worked in the past

By Lori Reeser on June 17, 2014

Format: Hardcover

Not a lot of people know that Europe's population started to drop before the Black Death hit in the mid-14th century, the subject of this book. As the subtitle indicates, a major cause of the famines that ravaged Northern Europe was climate change - not global, but localized to Northern Europe.

The author does a good job of explaining all the pieces of the puzzle, starting with the Medieval Warm Period (which allowed the Vikings to flourish and the population to climb), continuing with feudalism/manorialism, the Catholic Church, the Holy Roman Empire, and finishing with the onset of the Little Ice Age (which started with two years of almost daily rain). I now have a lot more sympathy for poor Edward II. It wasn't _all_ his fault.

Although it helps to be somewhat familiar with the period, the author does a good (if occasionally breakneck-paced) overview of the scene for those new to the subject. (For those who don't know, this is the era of _Braveheart_ and _A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century_.

Historical buffs will enjoy it and those who are interested in how climate affects human society can learn a lot from this book.

I received a free copy without any requirement to promote this book

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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

A Change in the Weather Unleashes Catastrophe

By Anne Mills on June 24, 2014

Format: Hardcover

Few books about Mr. Rosen's double topic -- climatology, and history -- are this entertaining and this compulsively readable. That it in itself is a good reason to read it. It is a brisk discussion of how a dramatic change in the weather in Northern Europe, early in the fourteenth century, unleashed starvation and sickness, compounding the impact of the endemic warfare of the time. The events known at the time as "The Great Famine" have got lost in shadow of the Black Death, which followed them by a generation. But the events were cataclysmic enough to bear comparison with almost any catastrophe except the plague itself.

In addition to a fascinating look at the past, this book highlights the risks we confront at present. The impact of a period of excessive rain and cold, compounded each year the unusual conditions persisted, affected almost everyone living in Northern Europe at the time. The impact of global warming has already begun to show, and it will persist year after year after year.

Why "only" four stars for a history book that is enlightening about the past, indicative about the future, and a good read to boot? Mr. Rosen's focus on the wars between England and Scotland sometimes takes over more than its share of the book, since he doesn't show that these were specifically related to changing weather. His look at the struggle, however, is interesting, and his discussion of the woes of Edward II very funny in a macabre way. I very much enjoyed Mr. Rosen's "Justinian's Flea", and will look forward to more from him on the intersections between history and our environment.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Five Stars

A broader history than the title might suggest. Enjoyable.

Published 10 days ago by MM3

Thought Provoking

Interesting. Worth the read.

Published 16 days ago by Judith Doreen Jones

I shutter to think how current science is utilized for financial and...

As a history buff, I found this book very fascinating. Having read A DISTANT MIRROR, this was a deeper look into these few years. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Sally Goodin

Queen Isabella did WHAT ?

1300 is interesting in itself, but Mr Rosen brings new insights to " the Bruce", and King Edward I & II. Read more

Published 3 months ago by BookorBells

Liked it

Decided to read it for a book report; glad I did because it really was a good read. Took a while to read but it was worth it

Published 4 months ago by Christina Kristoffersen

A bit different, but should have known since it ...

A bit different, but should have known since it was recommened or at least commented upon by Columnest George Will.

Published 5 months ago by Patrick Chapman

war and famine the book gave a good presentation. But the fact

On the subject of weather, war and famine the book gave a good presentation. But the fact, while true, were smothered by the detailed and complicated history of the times

Published 7 months ago by john fitzgerald

Pointless

does not seem to ever get to the main point

Published 7 months ago by Robert Peters

Rosen writes a great book. He digs up the most interesting facts ...

Rosen writes a great book. He digs up the most interesting facts about history. I love everything he writes but this is my favorite. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Volkster

Five Stars

Great book

Published 8 months ago by jane

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