How changed the perception of climate anomalies and weather disasters?
Chroniclers deliberately put a focus on memorable extreme events which affected the amount and the quality of crops. From the 12th century climatic events were increasingly described with reference to the natural sphere of causation. On the other hand, the meaning attributed to the events basically remained in the cultural sphere of causation. In the Christian world the weather was seen as God’s birch for whipping humans when he was angry (Fig. 1). Another interpretation blamed witches for the occurrence of extreme events resulting in the setting up processions or witch-hunts. On the other hand, climate events per se were portrayed in quasi objective terms. Yardsticks in the natural world such as the blossoming of plants were increasingly included into the reports. Which were the most disastrous weather impacts in Central Europe? The grain price was the basic indicator of well being. in pre-industrial societies. Crises stand out in terms of price peaks in the series. Many of them (1570
