Papacy In The Middle Ages

Around 1339 in northwestern Europe, the population began to outgrow the food supply and a severe economic crisis incremented. The winters were inordinately cold and the summers were arid and dry. Due to this extreme weather, a minute number of crops could produce and those that grew were dying. On the wake of these seven distressing years of weather and famine was the greatest plague of all times, The Black Death. In 1347 AD, The Black Death began spreading throughout Western Europe. Over the time span of three years, the widespread epidemic killed one third of the population in Europe with pretty near twenty five million people dead. The Black Death killed many more Europeans than any other endemic or war up to that time, vastly impacting the Church, the people, and the economy. These three social backbones were changed forever.

Starting in the early 14th century and ending around 1353, the Black Death was a horrific time in history. The Bubonic Plague killed about sixty-seven percent of Europe’s population. People living in Europe at the time of the Black Death responded differently to the devastation around them: many people fled, some stayed to investigate, and others saw it as an opportunity to obtain what others had lost, mostly money.

Council of Lyons (1274) declared a reunion of the Eastern Church with Rome after the pope sent forces to defend the Byzantine Empire against the Turks (the reunion only lasted seven years)

The Black Plague was one of the world’s most deadliest diseases. The Black Plague had many effects on the people back then when the Plague was most common. The effects we’re abandonment, burning of certain types of people, for example: The Jews, and over a third of Europe was killed because of the plague. The Black Plague caused major mortality rates to drastically increase. People believed that the plague was an act of god, sending it down as a test for the human’s survival.

The Middle Ages came right after the fall of the Roman Empire because of its lack of centralized religion and its inability to deal with the raids of the nomadic and germanic tribes. Compared to all the revolutionary advancements of the Roman Empire, many considered the Middle Ages to be a big step back in lifestyle, education and technological advancements. The The Middle Ages have been defined as many things. It has been called the Age of Feudalism, The Golden Age, and the Dark Ages. However, the Age of Faith is a more accurate title, because during the Middle Ages the church was the main source of unity in Europe, the church was viewed as the most important and powerful part of Europe, even more powerful than the kings and governments, and finally the Age is Faith is a more accurate title because people followed the church no matter what, even through situations as extreme as the Crusades.

The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague, was the most infamous plague in the world. It started in China and rapidly spread to Asia and Europe. Between the years thirteen forty-eight and thirteen fifty, it killed about twenty-five to fifty million people, roughly thirty percent of Europe’s population. There are several beliefs for the cause of this horrible plague, including: the idea of God punishing the people, the Miasma Theory, and the concept of rats carrying the disease.

The Black Death was a vicious disease that plagued many medieval people during the 1320s-50s. The plague killed close to 100 million people of the world’s population of 450 million. Its name comes from the blackish color the bacteria would turn various parts of its victim’s skin. During the Black Death, the superstitious cures and preventative measures taken against the plague made the plague even worse for many people.

They believed that the Black Death was a punishment from God for sins against god such as greed, blasphemy, heresy, and fornication. The logic to overcome the plague in the Middle Ages was to gain God’s forgiveness. People took this thought in many different ways. Some people believed they had to purge their communities of criminals. In result of that reaction, thousands of Jews were killed in 1348 and 1349. Some lashed out on neighbors, others worried about themselves. Upper-class men joined flagellants that traveled from town to town and publicly displayed penance and punishment by beating each other with sharp pieces of metal. Flagellants repeated this ritual for thirty three and a half days, then moved to the next town. The flagellants brought some comfort to people who felt powerless, but it worried the Pope that it would disrupt people. By cause of the Pope’s worrying, the Pope disbanded the flagellants ("Black Death"). The Black Death had a massive effect on the way people lived their daily lives. Doctors refused to see patients, shopkeepers closed stores, priests refused to administer last rites. It also affected cows, sheep, goats, pigs, and chicken ("Black Death"). People's businesses suffered because people were locked away in their homes. One in three people died in infected homes, in some cases whole families died (“London Plagues”). Husbands abandoned their wives, parents abandoned their kids, priests and doctors refused to see patients to save themselves (Butler). Some threw sick servants onto the streets, others refused to help sick family and friends (“London

The black death had a devastating effect on society. The country was torn between riot and disorder. The first Plague was followed by others milder each time but no less disjointing to society. Landowners and rich men were threatened with ruin by what seemed the crazy demands of the poor men to get higher wages. Wandering homeless man was for the first time masters of the labour market and Peasants from villages migrated to towns and cities, leading to the downfall of the Feudal System' When the plague was happening everybody thought it was a punishment from God for being too sinful, so what they did was pleasure god as much as they could but it still wouldn't work, so that made people lost faith and courage in Christianity and the church.

The Christians of Europe began saying it was God’s wrath to punish them for the corruption of the church. Some Christians called Flagellants would travel from town to town beating themselves to show that God no longer needed to punish them.“Others said God’s anger came as a result of the divisiveness that existed within Christian Europe” (The Black Death). There were many reasons to why they believed it was God’s punishment, but after a short while, a new idea rose up among the Christians of Europe. They began blaming the Jews because they had let them live there and remain faithful to their own beliefs. This idea became widely accepted, even by the church although they were not the ones who started the rumor. The Christians then got the idea that if the converted, exiled, or murdered the Jewish population that the plague would disappear. During this time, many people were unsanitary which led to them contracting the Black Death, but as a Jewish law, it was required that they clean themselves. Since the Jews cleaned their bodies daily, they were practically immune to the disease even though some still contracted it. Therefore, this led to the belief that the Jews caused the Black Death because their population died at a slower rate than the Christians (The Black

One of the most terrifying moments of human life would emerge in the 14th century, the Black Death. The Black was transferred, according to studies, by rats on ships traveled from Asia to Europe. Within four years, (1347-1351) most of Asian, European, and Middle Eastern people were infected. Socially and religiously, nothing worked like before, and people lived as if it was their last day. Jews were executed and accused of creating the plague by poisoning the wells. The Catholic Church lost its credibility when it came to explaining the disease. This lead to the evolution of Protestantism. The Black Death exterminated one to two third of the European population, about 25 million in Asia, interrupted the progress of science and intellectual

The Black Death was a very lethal and deadly epidemic. It has been widely debated years ago what the black plague really was, how the epidemic had spread, why and how were the Jewish people were responsible for the outbreak or not, and how people attempted to put a halt to the plague. Even up to this day scientists are still observing the DNA of the infected people found at mass burials . It was such a complex and widespread disease that no one can stop it and it killed a large amount of Europe’s population. It wasn’t one simple disease; there were many mutations and adaptation to it that the thought of treatment was just outrageous. Many Christians and other religions blamed the Jews for the events that had occurred even when they had no considerable evidence that is was the Jewish people who started this outbreak.

The Black Death was a catastrophic plague that struck Europe in the mid 14th century. This plague killed between 30 and 50% of the population in the places it struck leading many to believe this had been a punishment from God. The drop in population caused by the black death left excess wealth which would lead to changes in the social hierarchy and European society in general.

Taylor Harris History 1110 Mr. Shurtleff March 29, 2015 The Black Death Throughout history there has been many infectious diseases to harm the human race. Every so often there is a new disease presented as well as recurring diseases. As time has gone on we have found many epidemics and cures for the these infectious and harmful diseases, but we haven’t always been able to stop it.

This paper will look into the primary reasons for the rise of the Roman papacy to power, and a few of the many things that aided the papacy in getting there. The fall of the Roman Empire is clearly a key factor in the rise of the papacy, so a look into the factors that caused the fall of the Roman Empire is essential. Secondly, a look into how the church positioned itself, to step into the vacuum of power left behind by the fall of the Roman Empire will prove to be needed. Lastly, there will be a brief look at the positive and negative ramifications that ensued from the churches rise to power. This paper will not be an exhaustive look into the rise of the papacy, but instead will provide a good place to start ones study into