Death And The Black Death

The Black Death was one of the worst pandemics in history. The disease ravaged Europe, Western Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa between 1346 and 1353 (Horrox 1994). It is difficult to understand the reality of such a devastating event, especially given the fact that science during the middle ages was severely underdeveloped. No one knew about bacteria, viruses, or other microbial agents of disease (Benedictow 2004). They had no way of protecting themselves during that time and no one was safe from the effects of the plague. Those who wrote chronicles claimed that only a tenth of the population had survived, while others claimed that half to a third of the population was left alive (Horrox 1994). In 1351, agents for Pope Clement VI predicted the number of deaths in Europe to be 23,840,000 (Gottfried 1983). Obviously, not all regions experienced the same mortality rates, but modern estimates of the death rate in England give the first outbreak a mortality rate of about forty-eight percent (Horrox 1994). That is, England lost half of its population in about a year and a half. Clearly the chroniclers ' who claimed that ninety percent of the population had died were overstating the magnitude of the plague, but this overemphasis demonstrates how terrifying the pandemic was to those who experienced it (Horrox 1994). The Black Death had huge consequences on the lives of those who were impacted directly, as well as major religious and cultural effects that came afterward.

The Black Death was a catastrophic event, it caused many innocent people to lose their lives. The people had different responses to the Plague. In this specific DBQ the topic will be “How Different Were Christian and Muslim Responses” (The Black Death: How Different Were Christian and Muslim Responses, 2010). The Christian and Muslims had somewhat different and the same responses. They would either turn to religion or they divert their own path away from religion. Both Christians and Muslims had different theories on why the Black Death came to be. Either it had something to do with their religion or it was a punishment for their sins or they would blame people such as the Jews.

In the year 1348 the world changed forever. The Black Death, which is another name for the Bubonic Plague, laid havoc on the entire world. “The plague chases the screaming without pity and does not accept a treasure for a ransom. Its engine is far-reaching. The plague enters into the house and swears it will not leave except with all of its inhabitants…” (Al-Wardi, #29, 113). The plague did not care if the people were rich, poor, white, black, Muslim or Catholic, it would kill whomever it could. The plague brought out the worst in people because people acted selfishly, people were completely inhumane, and there was no peace.

In 1346 European traders began to hear reports about earthquakes, floods, locusts, famine, and plague in faraway China. They knew very little then that the plague they were hearing about would follow the same trade routes to the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe that they themselves used. (doc. 1) In five short years, the plague killed between 25 and 45% of the populations it encountered. (doc 2) So how different were the Christian and Muslim responses? In 1348 Christianity and Islam came face to face with the Black Death. (doc. 3A) In truth, Muslims and Christians responded in many different ways. Their ideas for what caused the Black Death were somewhat different from each other also. Even the way they thought they could cure the

The infamous plague, known as the Black Death, was a deadly disease which managed to spread throughout Europe and the Middle East in the 14th century. Although both the Europeans and the Empires of Islam experienced the Black Death, each region had different responses and reasons for the causes of the disease. Empires of Islam viewed the plague as a blessing from God while Europeans believed it was a punishment from Him. As a result of the Black Death, Europeans rebelled whereas Empires of Islam respected authority. Europeans used other religions as an explanation for the start of the Black Death while Islamic empires did not blame other religions, but rather had other explanations that caused the disease.

The Black Death was a monumental epidemic that took millions of lives and spread its devastation throughout Europe and Afro-Eurasia countries. The Black Death is well-known in Europe for the record amount of people that suffered and died from the disease. This devastating event began in the 1330s and didn’t end up dying out until the mid-1350s. It was an infectious disease that affected a large part of Afro-Eurasia in the mid-fourteenth century with millions of people dying from the Black Death. This brought about a great change in many ways from culture to the general way of life in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Populations were left in shambles in countries that had been affected such as England, Italy, Spain, and France just to name a few. “The

Some Christians sought out minorities to blame for the Black Death. “The Jews were guilty of this crime as all around was said, wrote one European witness of the plague” (DBQ: The Black Death, 2010). Muslims did not respond to the plague like this. In reference to the Middle East one historian says, “In no case is there a direct causal relationship to be found between the Black Death and the active persecution of minorities, as in Europe” (DBQ: The Black Death, 2010). In other words, there is no evidence that minorities in the Middle East were singled out and blamed for causing the plague. In some cases Christians stopped focusing on God. One witness writes, “not thinking of death, nor of the past plague nor of their own salvation” (DBQ: The Black Death, 2010). On the other hand, Muslims were still devoted to their religion. “Men were crowding to the baths so that they might die in a state of complete purity”, recalls one Muslim (DBQ: The Black Death, 2010). Christians at this time were quick to blame others and some even abandoned their religion. Muslims stayed true to their beliefs and did not look for others to

Religion has always been a major theme in history, and even now does not fail to play an important role. The desire to gain more believers and convert people makes up the base of the reason for the differences in Muslim and Christian responses the Black Plague. As Gabriele de Mussis, a Christian chronicler during the Black Death, states, “I am overwhelmed, I can’t go on!...The hand of the Almighty strikes repeatedly to greater and greater effect.” On the contrary, Muhammad al Manbiji, an Islamic scholar, said that “…the plague is a blessing from God; at the least, a Muslim should devoutly accept the divine act.” (doc. 4) These two viewpoints of the plague are complete opposites; Christians are overwhelmed that their population is dying out while Muslims are accepting it as a blessing that their rival religion is suffering. These documents were combined to emphasize the contrast between

The tragedy of The Black Death affected the Christian and Muslim cultures equally in the fourteenth century. However, these two groups responded to the situation in very different ways.

The Black Death, one of the greatest natural disaster to hit Europe thus causing the death of many people in the most horrific manner and cause the end of feudalism. This was a disaster that affected one third of the European continent and also one that no one was prepared to face. It killed more people than during a war and it impacted simple lives of people, their culture, religion and the economy as a whole.

Many lives were lost during the outbreak of the Bubonic Plague or the Black Death in the fourteenth century. During this time religion was a critical need in the lives of humans and many people in a certain religion reacted differently. A perfect example of this would be the Christian and the Islams. According to the 2010 DBQ Document of World History, one can conclude that the responses of the Christian and Islam were not very similar. They are different because each religion believed that the disease came from different origin, each one sought different practices of preventing the disease, and the living of each religion responded differently to the plague, and their actions during the outbreak.

Although Christians was running around blaming and burning people, Muslims was sane about the whole thing. One could say some were panicking and most was also dying. Muslims was not hateful about it, they thought inside the box about the plague. Some Muslims did not think about burning anybody except the dead. al-Maqrizi was born fifteen years after the Black Death, and people are still recovering from this horrible event. “...manifested itself in the following manner: a small swelling grew behind the ear which rapidly suppurated. There was bubo under the arm and death followed very quickly. One noticed also the presence of a tumor which caused a serious mortality. They were occupied with this for a time; then they spat blood, and the population was terrified by the multitude of the dead. The maximum of survival after the spitting of blood was fifty hours.” After the popping of the bubo it had took up to two days before they died. Some citizens survived the Black Death but caught it again and then died. Muslims took this epidemic as a blessing from God (Allah). Most Muslims prayed for lifting the plague from the area. Muhammad al-Manbiji is an Islamic scholar told people this. “Prayer for lifting the epidemic is abhorrent because plague is a blessing from God; at the least, a Muslim should devoutly accept the divine act.” Muslims believed there was no evidence of any other ethnic group that brought this upon

As was we all know that The Black Death is one of the tragic events in world history and it has effected many civilizations in early 1300s. This has made many devastating trends within Europe’s borders and raged with many diseases, and other infections. Not only this pandemic event has effected many people, but it has transform Europe’ political, religious, and cultural practices. The Black Death became an outbreak and painful change to western civilization in which it marked history

Life was very busy for me in 1300’s, I travelled through many countries and continents following the trail of dead bodies. I am death. I have lived forever. I will live until no human lives no more. I will continue collecting the souls of the deceased on earth and taking them to rest in the light blue place beyond. I lived through the Black Death watching on as the world experienced the disastrous effects.

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.