Did the Black Death reach the Kingdom of Poland in the middle of the 14th century?

Abstract

The Black Death is regarded as a turning point in late medieval European history. Recent studies have shown that even regions that have so far been perceived in the literature as not or only marginally affected by the epidemic, suffered from its profound demographic and economic consequences. The scale and geographical range of the plague in Central Europe, the Kingdom of Poland included remains, however, a matter of dispute and from the beginning scholars’ views on this matter have been divided. What is particularly important, the outbreak of the plague in Western Europe coincided with the reign of Casimir of the Piast dynasty, the only ruler of Poland to receive the nickname the Great, who is associated with the modernisation and extraordinary development of his kingdom which was entering the golden age of its history.