The purpose of this paper then is to ascertain to what extent John Wycliffe was influenced by one of the greatest calamities which has ever come upon the world.
To the average person the Black Death recalls vaguely a horrible phase in medieval Europe which merely came, but also merely went. This great blight was not a passing thing. It left lasting, livid scars on succeeding generations. It was a type of revolution from which no class escaped; no institution remained unaffected. In fact, many of the medieval institutions were all but destroyed by the Black Death. It also accentuated many of the evils in the world and in the Church. It is, therefore, only natural that it would effect the work of the reformer who lived during this epidemic and whose work followed only a few years later
