Saint Marcellus's flood
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 13 January 1362 |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 25,000–100,000 |
Areas affected | British Isles, Netherlands, Northern Germany and Denmark |
Saint Marcellus's flood or Grote Mandrenke (Low Saxon: /ɣroːtə mandrɛŋkə/; Danish: Den Store Manddrukning, 'Great Drowning of Men')[1] was an intense extratropical cyclone, coinciding with a new moon, which swept across the British Isles, the Netherlands, northern Germany, and Denmark (including Schleswig/Southern Jutland) around 16 January 1362, causing at least 25,000 deaths.[1] The storm tide is also called the "Second St. Marcellus flood" because it peaked on 16 January, the feast day of St. Marcellus. A previous "First St. Marcellus flood" had drowned 36,000 people along the coasts of West Friesland and Groningen on 16 January 1219.
Background and meteorological synopsis
[edit]In the Medieval Warm Period, storms were stronger and sea levels were higher compared to the pre-industrial average due to higher temperatures.[2] The storm arrived with northwesterly winds and a spring tide caused by the arrangement of the sun-earth-moon system, further increasing the sea levels.[2] Dikes had been built to prevent flooding, but were in disrepair due to the Black Death.[2] The constructed preventative measures decreased area able to be inundated while tidal variation increased through the early second millennium.[3]
Impact
[edit]An immense storm tide from the North Sea swept far inland from England and the Netherlands to Denmark and the German coast, breaking up islands, making parts of the mainland into islands, and wiping out entire towns and districts. These included Rungholt, said to have been located on the island of Strand in North Frisia, Ravenser Odd in East Yorkshire, and the harbour of Dunwich in Suffolk.[4] Some areas of cultivated land were also turned into tidal flats.[3] The storm destroyed a total of 44 villages.[2] At least 25,000 people died,[1] with estimates going as high as 100,000.[2]
This storm tide, along with others of like size in the 13th century and 14th century, played a part in the formation of the Zuiderzee,[1] and was characteristic of the unsettled and changeable weather in northern Europe at the beginning of the Little Ice Age.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Stephen Moss (20 January 2011). "Weatherwatch: The Grote Mandrenke". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Lüken, Sven (16 August 2023). "Storm Surges on the North Sea Coast". Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
- ^ a b Hadler, H.; Vött, A.; Newig, J.; Emde, K.; Finkler, C.; Fischer, P.; Willershäuser, T. (15 April 2018). "Geoarchaeological evidence of marshland destruction in the area of Rungholt, present-day Wadden Sea around Hallig Südfall (North Frisia, Germany), by the Grote Mandrenke in 1362 AD". Quaternary International. Integrated geophysical and (geo)archaeological explorations in wetlands. 473: 37–54. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2017.09.013. ISSN 1040-6182.
- ^ "Dunwich underwater images show 'Britain's Atlantis'". BBC News. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
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