Bubonic Plague In Medieval Europe

The Bubonic Plague killed over twenty-five million people during the Elizabethan Era (David Perlin, PhD and Ann Cohen). “The origins of the Black Death can be traced back to the Gobi Desert of Mongolia in the 1320’s (Ed. Geoffrey J. et al).” The Bubonic Plague has picked up many nicknames. For example, it has been called “The Black Death,” and “one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse” (Ed. Geoffrey J. et al). The Bubonic Plague was very prominent during its time with many people’s lives being affected by the treatments, preventions, and twisted theories that occurred.

The 1300s Bubonic Plague, also known as The Black Death was the greatest epidemic known to mankind. This Plague started in 1347 and proceeded up until 1351, executing an estimated amount of 25 million individuals. It was relatively difficult to keep one from catching this infectious disease. The virus traveled not only through inflicted flea bites, but it was airborne as well. Attacking the rich, the poor, newborns and elders, everybody was an easy target. I firmly believe that the 1300s Bubonic Plague changed the way of world history.

"The Black Death" alone was not the only factor that was responsible for the social and economic change although it was the most important (Ziegler 234). Even without "The Black Death" continued deterioration in Europe would have been likely. The social and economic change had already set in well before 1346. For at least twenty-five years before "The Black Death," exports, agricultural production, and the area of cultivated land had all been shrinking. "The Black Death" contributed a large part to all of this destruction and led to important changes in the social and economic structure of the country (Ziegler 234-235). The plague touched every aspect of social life (Herlihy 19). There was hardly a generation that was not affected by the plague (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). Families were set against each other - the well rejecting the sick (www.byu.edu). Families left each other in fear. Many people died without anyone looking after them. When the plague appeared in a house, frightened people abandoned the house and fled to another (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). Due to this, the plague spread more rapidly because people were not aware that being in the same house with the infected person had already exposed them to it. Physicians could not be found because they had also died. Physicians who could be found wanted large sums of money before they entered the house (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). When the

Imagine a world, with no kayos, and soon get a mystery disease, that someone wouldn’t know it would kill. The Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death, would come and go, killing millions of people. This deadly disease was the biggest time that had the most deaths according to it. It came from the Black Sea, and soon would invade villages, whipping them out within a week. Caused by infected fleas, the Black Plague was a painful disease that left huge black spots on the skin and killed millions of people during the Elizabethan Era.

The Black Death, also known as the bubonic plague, was a disease that devastated Medieval Europe, between 1346 and 1352 it killed 45 million people, wiping out a third of Europe's population. Today, we know that there were many causes of the Black Death. Medieval towns had no system of drains, sewers or trash collections. In such slovenly conditions, germs could grow, and diseased rats could call these medieval towns their homes and infect the people who lived there. Many historians believed the plague originated in china and spread to other countries by trade routes. Infected people and/or infected rodents such as mice or black rats. The Black Death was caused by strains of the bubonic plague. The plague lived in fleas, and fleas lived on

Made of a canvas outer garment coated in wax, as well as waxed leather pants, gloves, boots and hat. A dark leather hood and mask with a very grotesque curved beak (Jackie Rosenhek, 2011). A serial killer, Halloween costume perhaps or a cosplay outfit for a horror movie? No, a doctor actually is what this outfit was meant for. Doctors wore this attire in the medieval times in order to protect themselves from the bubonic plague. We 've all heard of the bubonic plague in our history classes. We know the numbers and effects and how deadly it was. However the bubonic plague is still on the hunt and loose. Yes, numbers in outbreaks of the bubonic plague have doubled since 2014. There have been very few, but a pathogen such as the Black Death is not to be taken lightly.

In the late Middle Ages the worst evil known to man terrorized Europe. People were dropping dead everywhere and there was no place to put them. This vicious culprit was known as the Black Plague. During the 14th century in Europe millions of people died from the plague and the plague brought about great change. Before the plague there was peace and prosperity in the High Middle Ages and after the plague things were different. Historians consider the outbreak of the Black Plague a watershed moment because of great social, religious and economical changes.

All throughout history nations all over the world have dealt with deadly diseases, but one in particular brought out the fear in the nations of Europe, the bubonic plague or as others call it, the black death. During the thirteenth century, medicine was not as developed as it is now, causing England to suffer more than others. According to Cantor (2002) the European nations encountered the bubonic plague in its most brutal state during 1348 to 1349, taking out about a third of Europe’s population (pp. 6-7). He continues on by claiming that one big question to this event was whether or not the plague was the full cause to the loss of lives or if there was another cause along with it (p. 11). Cantor (2002) also explained that the reason the black plague stopped in Europe around the eighteenth century could possibly have been from an introduction to a new species of rats, the gray rat (p. 13). Even though there is controversy based around the plague being spread by rats and how it was stopped by isolation, it may have taught countries useful strategies and ways to grow stronger.

The plague was a catastrophic time in history, and happened more than once. It took millions and millions of people’s lives. It destroyed cities and countries, and many people suffered from it.

The Black Death of the mid-fourteenth century will have the greatest impact on the 16th and 17th centuries. The plague caused the European population the drop by 25 to 50 percent, induced movements and many revolts, and prompted changes in urban life. The European population dropped by 25 to 50 percent between 1347 and 1351. So, if the European population was 75 million, this would mean the 18.75 to 37.5 million people died in four years. There were also major outbreaks that lasted many years until the end of the 15th century. Mortality figures were incredibly high. As a result, the European population did not begin to recover until the 16th century. It took many generations after that to achieve thirteenth-century levels. The plague induced movements and many revolts in Europe.

The Bubonic plague has been said to be a part of history since the biblical eras and has had an undeniable effect on the development of contemporary civilization Gowen, B.S. (1907). The cause of the plague is not known. However, there is religious reference of God punishing sinners causing death and destruction using this deadly disease. Throughout the years, there has been a question to be answered by historians and medical professionals. This question is: if the destructive attributes of the disease was an act of God to punish sinners or an act of nature? Today, historians believe that the existence of germs, given suitable soil conditions, mass-produced the disease.

Plague and diseases were significant and devastating in history because they don’t have the medical system as the modern society. The Black Plague changed the European Society substantially. The disaster affected all aspects of life— depopulation, government corruption, economy decreased dramatically, etc. “The disease carved a path of death through Asia, Italy, France, North Africa, Spain, and Normandy, and continued eastward into Hungary” (The Plague in Florence). The black plague impacted the amount of labors and the Jews. It also undermined the medieval model of feudalism and the presence of the church.

The pandemic known to history as the Black Death was one of the world’s worst natural disasters in history. It was a critical time for many as the plague hit Europe and “devastated the Western world from 1347 to 1351, killing 25%-50% of Europe’s population and causing or accelerating marked political, economic, social, and cultural changes.” The plague made an unforgettable impact on the history of the West. It is believed to have originated somewhere in the steppes of central Asia in the 1330s and then spread westwards along the caravan routes. It spread over Europe like a wildfire and left a devastating mark wherever it passed. In its first few weeks in Europe, it killed between 100 and 200 people per day. Furthermore, as the weather became colder, the plague worsened, escalating the mortality rate to as high as 750 deaths per day. By the spring of 1348, the death toll may have reached 1000 a day. One of the main reasons the plague spread so quickly and had such a devastating effect on Europe was ultimately due to the lack of medical knowledge during the medieval time period.

Wars and the Bubonic plague had a major impact on the decline of Middle Age Italy. There needed to be a change and that change came with the families of the Renaissance. These families made Italy what it could become. One of the families was the Medici Family. “The Medici family, also known as the House of Medici, first attained wealth and political power in Florence in the 13th century through its success in commerce and banking” (Staff 2009).

The Great Plague killed nearly half of the European population during the fourteenth century. A plague is a widespread illness. The Illness was also known as the “Black Death”. Most of the European people believed the plague was the beginning of the end of the world. They were scarcely equipped and unready for what was to be entailed. It was by far one of the worst epidemics yet to be seen in those times.