Have Historians in the Past Tended to Exaggerate the Negative Economic Impact of Plague in Late Medieval Society?

The victims "ate lunch with their friends and dinner with their ancestors in paradise."
Boccacci
There is no doubt that the plague led to economic hardship in England in the mid-fourteenth century. However the plague appears to be a catalyst rather than the principal instigator of economic decline. The plague was disastrous enough, especially with the appearance of three interrelated forms during the same epidemic but coming at the time it did was just as catastrophic as the nature of the disease itself.1 The effects of the plague were made worse because of other problems inherent at the time and the problems were re-doubled because of the plague. Despite the widespread destruction, those of the lower class who managed to survive achieved a certain economic prosperity in the years to follow. 2, 3
The European Black Death originated in the Far East and was carried back to Europe via the major shipping ports.4 Once it had reached England in 1349 it proceeded to spread rapidly and with devastating consequences throughout the whole land. …