Editing Reformation (section)

===Calamities===
{{See also|Little Ice Age|Medieval demography|Black Death|Sweating Sickness}}
[[File:Willem Vrelant (Flemish, died 1481, active 1454 - 1481) - Mass for the Dead - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Funeral Mass with priest, choristers, bearers or mourners, and beggar receiving alms ({{circa|1460–1480}})]]

[[Europe]] experienced a period of dreadful calamities from the early {{nowrap|14th century}}. These culminated in a devastating [[pandemic]] known as the [[Black Death]], which killed about one-third of Europe's  population.{{sfn|Lindberg|2021|pp=21–24}} Around 1500, the population of Europe was about {{nowrap|60–85 million}} people—no more than {{nowrap|75 percent}} of the mid-14th-century demographic maximum.{{sfn|Cameron|2012|p=4}} Due to a shortage of workforce, the landlords began to restrict the rights of their tenants which led to rural revolts that often ended with a compromise.{{sfn|Cameron|2012|pp=204–205}}

[[File:Hrastovlje Dreifaltigkeitskirche Innen Totentanzzyklus 2.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.35 |alt=A mural depicting a cardinal, a bishop, a monk and a peasant dancing with skeletons|Detail of the {{lang|fr|[[danse macabre]]}} (1490) by [[John of Kastav]] in the [[Holy Trinity Church (Hrastovlje)|Holy Trinity Church]], [[Hrastovlje]], Slovenia]]
The constant fear of unexpected death was mirrored by popular artistic motifs, such as the allegory of {{lang|fr|[[danse macabre]]}} ('dance of death'). The fear also contributed to the growing popularity of [[Requiem|Masses for the dead]].{{sfn|Lindberg|2021|p=24}} Already detectable among [[Early Christianity|early Christians]], these ceremonies indicated a widespread belief in [[purgatory]]—a transitory state for souls that needed purification before entering [[Heaven in Christianity|heaven]].{{sfn|Hamilton|2003|p=97}} Fear of malevolent magical practice was also growing, and [[witch hunt]]s intensified.{{sfn|Gordon|2022|pp=41, 48}}

At the end of the {{nowrap|15th century}}, the [[sexually transmitted infection]] known as [[syphilis]] spread throughout Europe for the first time. Syphilis destroyed its victims' looks with [[Ulcer (dermatology)|ulcers]] and scabs before killing them. Along with the [[Italian War of 1494–1495|French invasion of Italy]], syphilis contributed to the success of the charismatic preacher [[Girolamo Savonarola]] (d. 1498) who called for a moral renewal in [[Florence]]. He was arrested and executed for [[Heresy in Christianity|heresy]], but his [[Christian meditation|meditations]] remained a popular reading.{{sfn|MacCulloch|2003|pp=90–92}}