Several centuries before the Black Plague, the Justinian Plague accelerated the decline of the remnants of the Roman Empire and plunged Europe into the Dark Age

Several centuries before the Black Plague, the Justinian Plague accelerated the decline of the remnants of the Roman Empire and plunged Europe into the Dark Ages. In the process a lot of Roman technology and skill was lost, and the burgeoning Byzantine empire failed to reach Roman heights as a result of massive losses of human life. In addition the climate got colder as a result of volcanism and caused widespread famine. Maybe the Black Plague did shake up things in what we retrospectively look at as good outcomes, but it happened at the tail end of a long period of malaise.