This in turn infected the human. Quarantines were ineffective because rats and fleas were everywhere. Sanitation contributed too, since rats feasted on garbage. Sanitation in the Middle Ages was atrocious. Villages, towns, and cities were in effect breeding grounds for disease. It's not surprising that the plague spread so easily. .
Society in the Middle Ages revolved around the manor. The high mortality rates hit the manors especially hard. The plague had no discrimination as to which it killed. Lords and Vassals were killed just as often as peasants were. The plague caused severe labor shortages at most if not all manors. Peasants recognized their labor was critical to the manor's survival. They began pushing for higher wages and more freedoms on the manor. The lords did not like this, and began striking down any protest that occurred. The peasants became more rebellious and left the manors in protest. This is known as the peasant's revolt of 1381. The peasants took to the streets, protesting to local governments to grant their requests. Many were locked up and some were executed. Although the revolt was considered a failure, it drastically changed the peasant-lord relationship on many levels. .
Firstly, most peasants were no longer required to work the land. Rent increased dramatically for labor lost. This resembles today's tenant-landlord relationship. The peasants still had jobs at the manor if they wanted. If they took them, rent would fall accordingly. But most peasants chose to take up the many vacant jobs in the cities created by the Black Death. This work was high paying, skilled labor. Many became artisans, since that closely resembled some of the work they performed while on the manor. These peasants became some of the first commuters. The peasants soon acquired a good amount of wealth and moved off the manors. They proceeded to move onto vacant manors left by those who were killed by the plague.
