Black Plague In The Middle Ages

Diseases have always been a threat to humans, all throughout history. One of the most destructive disease outbreaks in history was the plague outbreak which peaked in 1346 to 1353, in Europe, commonly known as the Black Death. This plague outbreak was extremely deadly and killed 30-60% of the European population at the time of the outbreak. The outbreak is commonly believed to have been caused by the bubonic plague, but modern evidence suggests that the Black Death was caused by pneumonic plague, a much more contagious and deadly infection.

The people of the town would throw food at you if they saw you in town and you were ill with the Plague. No one in the towns wanted the Plague so they thought if they killed the people that had it; the dieses would eventually go away. Some people would steal the cloths off the dead people and sell it just to make a little money, even if thought that would help spread the Black Plague.

In the 1300’s, the plague first started in Europe. After the plague killed many people, they changed their culture and the way they lived to stop it from spreading. Everyone had many ideas on what causes it but it was mainly from rats and pollution. There was waste in the streets and the water was polluted.Also the houses were so crowded together that if one person got the disease it would spread fast. They also thought it was a punishment from God. So they tried magic spells,charms and talismans to try to remove their sins. People also burnt herbs because they thought the smell of the dead bodies caused the disease. Everyone had different opinions on what caused it and there are many ways it could have happened (The Black Death).

The black plague was one of the worse epidemic of the world. This disease was a horrible and spread widely thought the world at a rapidly rate. The black plague arrived in October of the year 1347. This disease was arrived by sea when 12 Genoese trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina, through the black sea. When the ships arrived to be docked there was a horrifying sight to see. The people on the boats were mostly dead and the others were barely holding onto life, that they had left. For the passengers that were still holding onto life were having symptoms of very high fevers, unable to keep any foods or liquids down, with also the agony of pain that they were having. The most unbearable thing that the black plague did to the

Access to health care is a recent social commodity. During the times of the Black Plague the general population did not have access to health care or the means to pay for medication of medical attention. Only individuals with wealth could afford to live with such a luxury. The rest of the general population was left to contract a horrible disease and fend for themselves. Some of the things that the Black Plague would do to the human body were most likely accompanied by immense pain. The lymph glands would swell and turn into lymph nodes, which are large and painful bumps. Also, a bacteria known as Yersinia Pestis is believed to be the cause of plague. This bacteria causes healthy tissue to slowly deteriorate and eventually die. The dead and dying tissue turns black. This side effect is what gives the disease its name.

The Black Plague, also known as the Black Death, started spreading in the early 1300’s when the climate in Western Europe became colder and wetter. The outcome of the climate change was

In the past there have been numerous deadly diseases to take people before their “time”. During the time period between 1348-1349, the Black Death spread throughout Western Europe. It went by many other names as well, such as, The Black Plague, The Bubonic Plague or simply, The Plague. The disease came from a bacteria found in the stomach of a flea. This disease spread quickly and depending on the form of the disease it acted at it’s own pace.

Around 1339 in the northwestern part of Europe, the human population was descending due to a numerous amount of reasons. Europe was struggling with food supply, economic crisis, weather conditions, and a horrific disease known as the Black Death. The Black Death was responsible for the majority of the population. This disease has several names, such as the Black Plague, the Bubonic Plague, and etc. This horrific disease originated from fleas that lived on rats. The Black Plague spread in several ways; pneumatically or systemically. The pneumatic version of the disease was formed in the lungs, allowing it to spread frequently and easily. The systemic form was spread by being in contact with an infected person’s blood. The Black Death killed more Europeans than any other endemic or war up to that time, greatly impacting depopulation, Church life, and economy. (The Black Death; Section 1)

Historians began referring to the plague by the name of “The Black Death” after a 1631 publication on Danish History, after which the term “Black Death” spread from that one usage across Europe. However, it was not until 1823 that the mid-fourteenth century epidemic was called the “Black Death” in England, and it is an error to believe that the term “Black Death” was used in contemporary accounts. In those ages, medieval knowledge and medical ability was very shallow compared to modern abilities, and the theories surrounding the plague’s cause were misguided, and it was not even known until recently that it was caused by a bacterium, an infection causing a plague. I will cover this in more depth later, but for now it suffices to know that in late medieval periods, physicians did not realize it was a bacterium, and had varying theories around the

To begin with, many people do not actually know how The Black Plague came to Europe. The Black Plague came to Europe on a fleet of 12 Genoese trading ships docked at the

Be that as it may, the part of the Black Death that intrigues me the most is that the plague had first started in China, then spread out throughout Asia and moved on to Egypt, Syria, Persia, and India from which it reached Europe. The Black Plague started because of Oriental rat fleas infected with the Yersinia pestis bacterium, which was on rats. The rats carried the Plague throughout multiple regions. The Plague came to Europe because of twelve Genoese trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after a long journey through the Black Sea from France. Most of the sailors were already dead from the disease, the others were seriously ill. That was the beginning of the Black Plague in Europe. My opinion on this topic is that the Black Plague was the worst Plague to ever happen in Europe. It was awful what happened to all of those people. Too many people died because of this Plague. This Plague should have been avoidable if possible. If it were not for the ships who carried the disease to Europe, the disease would have never made it to Europe and all of those people would not have died. It was a very melancholy and horrible time in

The Black Death is the name that was given to a global epidemic of the bubonic plague that occurred in medieval Europe during the 1350’s. It was brought to Europe when twelve ships arrived filled with people either infected or dead from the disease, and it spread quickly. The disease wiped approximately 60 percent of Europe’s entire population, which is more than any other known pandemic up until that time. Although the black plague had drastic effects on Europe’s population and social structure, it also had many positive outcomes such as leading to the growth of cities, strengthening the immune systems of plague survivors, and increasing technological innovation.

The plague affected not only humans and rats, but a variety of animals as well, one of these animals were sheep, so many died to the point that there was a wool shortage in Europe (History.com). At the time, medical knowledge wasn’t very far, and the only “cures” were bloodletting, which is cutting of the wrists to expel the bad blood, and boil-lancing, which were to pop the boils that appeared due to the plague. Neither of these were good ideas, nor very sanitary, and any patients getting these treatments would most likely die, or get even more

There were multiple waves of the Black Death, one in 11th-12th century, another in the 13th century, and the biggest one in the 14th century. Each time there was a wave more and more people were killed, it was more concentrated in a short amount of time, and it led up to the one of the most important epidemic in human history, (DeWitte, 2015). When one wave would hit, there was usually a trigger that would welcome the plague. It was either a natural disaster, scarcity of food or a war had taken place (DeWitte, 2015). It was speculated that the economy, government and occupations of the people are what lead to the 14th century Black Death epidemic. The overall health of the people in England was deteriorating due to stress and malnourishment

The first way to describe the medieval world was with the development of cities. With all of this death and destruction going on, it was obvious that the people weren’t too wealthy at this time. Farmers didn’t know how to maintain crops with the weather not cooperating either. This means there was little to no food in the village, which made the plague all the worse, even killing off entire towns in some cases. A human without any food is more susceptible to diseases, which could be one of the main reasons these diseases became so deadly.