The Black Death (also known as the Great Plague) was a bubonic plague that hit both Asian and Europe in the mid-fourteenth century. The disease, which originated from rodents, spread from China to Europe through trade routes. The Black Death would become responsible for the lives of approximately two-thirds of Europe's population. The Black Death hit the British Isles by the late 1340s, and it specifically struck Scotland in the year 1349. 

The Plague affected the economic and social conditions of medieval Scotland in a multitude of ways. The Plague decreased the number of agricultural labourers that worked on the lands of lords. This greatly affected the feudal system in Scotland and led to a rise of new agreements regarding land labour and ownership. Moreover, the devastation caused by the Plague led to a migration of peoples from the countryside to city-centres, which led to the growth of urbanization; this would further affect the socio-economics of medieval Scotland.