The plague came along during the Hundred Years' War between England and France, both of whose governments were staggering under the expense of maintaining the lengthy conflict. Revenues from taxation, the chief source of funding the war, came almost to a standstill, particularly in France. Another unexpected result of the number of deaths was that there was a shortage of politicians. In England, the number required for a quorum in the City Council was halved by decree, just to keep the government going. There was so much property left owner-less after all the plague deaths, the government had to appoint special judges and commissions to decide the cases of survivors fighting over it.
