The Black Death, a term coined in the sixteenth century refers to the pandemic that cut Europe’s population nearly in half from 1348-1350. The disease is thought to have come from Central Asia through the trade routes. Taking a ride from the trade ships, black rats, which carry the disease infected fleas, were introduced into European ports. From the ports, the disease eventually spread to the rest of Europe. The disease was caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. This bacteria caused three types of plague, bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, and septicemic plague. The most common form was the bubonic plague which consisted of buboes in the lymph nodes often appearing black in color from which the name “Black Death” comes from. Because of …show more content…
Groups of flagellants would travel from city to city marching down streets in parades exhibiting their practice starting from the cities church. Covering only their lower body with white skirts, they would march and whip themselves while singing a religious song. At certain times, they would be whipped while lying on the ground in a position which describes their sin, whether it be lying flat on the ground or lying on either side. Each flagellant would get whipped one at a time until they all have been whipped, at which time they would all be up and continue the practice. The singing continues and three times during the song, they would fall flat from which they were standing with their arms out mimicking the shape of a cross. Sometimes they would be referred to as “cruciferians.” This was due to the fact that they always were led by a cross, they wore a cross on their clothing, the metal in the knots was to look like a cross, and they would fall into a cross shape. Seeing the cross replicated over and over again representing their faith and their beliefs. Within their beliefs was the belief that practicing flagellantism would allow them to be forgiven for their sins thus allowing
Black death was a bubonic plague, which took the lives of millions of people in the mid 1300s. This plague was caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis, which lived in fleas. Therefore, transmitting the bacteria to its rodent hosts every time they would feed. The bacteria then killed the rodents leaving the fleas without hosts to feed on and in result they would feed on the humans. (Bailey 7-12) Most people who were infected would last two to three days before they died, no longer than two to three weeks. The plague moved rapidly, medical researchers believe it could have moved as fast as eight to twelve miles a day. The plague was first encountered in China and it spread through Asia and into Europe in a
The black plague, also known as the bubonic plague, swept its way across Europe beginning in 1346 A.D. , killing an estimated thirty to fifty percent of the total population. The plague was spread by fleas infected with Yersinia pestis, and was carried over oceans by hitchhiking rats and pet gerbils. The plague outbreak that decimated the population was transported by infected Christian merchants
The black death came through Western Europe from 1348-1949. The black death is a deadly disease that killed huge amounts of people. Some names that the black death is known as are the “Bubonic Plague”, “Black Plague”, and “The Plague”. The Black Death is a disease that was spreaded quickly and that is how it killed so many people. It spreaded through cough and touching and thats why it spread so quickly everywhere. The black death was deadly because it caused the skin to die, swelling, pain then death. The black death was a powerful disease and caused many changes to take place in the society.
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 Black Death was one of the most life-changing pandemics in history. It was first discovered 550 years later in the 1800s by Alexandre Yersin, a french biologist. In his honor, the plague was named Yersinia Pestis. The plague traveled in two major ways. Yersin discovered that it traveled by infected fleas; the flea would attempt to feed on a human or animal and would then regurgitate the disease into the new host, further spreading the illness. Urban areas across Europe were populous with rats, which were one of the main hosts of the plague. These rodents spread the Black Death throughout cities in days. The unaffected still were not safe if they did not come in contact with an infected flea or rat. The plague also traveled pneumonically, or through the air. It caused large boils full of blood and pus, which would pop and spread. Another symptom was coughing, which was one of the many ways of proliferation. The disease eventually spread throughout Europe and killed a third of it’s population. It’s wrath caused many shortages, loss in hope, riots, and even some good things, such as many changes in art, science, and education. Therefore, the Black Death was one of the most life-changing pandemics in history.
The black death arrived in Europe in October of 1347. It was brought by twelve Genoese trading ships that docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after a lengthy expedition through the Black Sea. The people that were gathered on the docks to meet the twelve ships were greeted with a terrifying surprise: the majority of the sailors that were on they ship were dead, and the ones that were still alive were somberly ill. They had fevers, were unable to hold down food, and were delirious from pain. They were covered with big black boils that oozed pus and blood. The illness was named the “Black Death” because of the black boils.
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
In the 14th century the Black Death engulfed Europe killing an estimated 50 million people. The pandemic is considered extraordinary because it did so in a matter of months. This disease was carried by fleas, the Bubonic Plague is caused by a bacteria called Yersinia pestis, found mainly in rodents, in this case in rats, and the fleas that feed on them.
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.
Throughout history, diseases and illnesses have had profound effects on society as they cause death on a massive scale, but none have been more impactful or infamous than the Bubonic Plague. The Bubonic Plague, more commonly known as the Black Death, was a highly contagious disease caused by the overgrowth of Yersin Bacillus, a bacteria found in the stomachs of fleas. Certain environmental conditions caused the fleas to regurgitate the bacteria into the bloodstream of rats, who then transferred the disease to humans. From 1340 to approximately 1350 AD, the Black Death traveled from Central Asia to Europe, where it killed over twenty-three million people, about one third of Europe’s population. The Black Death hit Europe during a period of great
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.
During the hundred year’s war, people began to catch a terrible sickness that was spreading along Mongol trade routes through central Asia to both china and Western Europe. This sickness was called the bubonic plague. The bacteria was infecting people when infected fleas bit them. Bubonic plague was one of the most feared diseases pf the ancient and medieval worlds.
Throughout history there has been many events that caused changes in the culture and livelihood of the human race. The Black Death was one such event. The spread of the disease killed millions of people, and caused many religious, social and economic upheavals. The pandemic is thought to have first originated in Central Asia and travel along the Silk Road by the means of trade. The shifting climate patterns at the start of the Little Ice Age may have contributed to the severity of the disease. The Black Death has occurred more than once in the years since the middle ages, but hardly caused a high mortality rate. It would take Hundred and fifty years till Europe would reach the population it once had prior to the pandemic.
The Black Plague, the Black Death, or simply, the plague, was a deadly epidemic that hit Europe and Asia in 1346 - 1353. The plague was extremely contagious, and was originally brought by rat fleas. The disease was airborne, and could also be caught through the bite of infected fleas and rats. The disease mostly spread by infected rats living on ships (although some say it was actually gerbils), which sailed from one European port to another.
“The Black Death, caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, first exploded in Europe between 1347 and 1351.” (Pappas) It consisted of three different plagues; The Bubonic, Septicemic, and Pneumonic plagues. It was first noticed when Genoese trading ships were docked at the Sicilian port of Messina arriving from the Black Sea. People waiting for the ships to arrive were astonished at the scene left on the ship. A big percentage of the sailors were dead. Others that were still alive, didn’t have much longer. They were very sick. They could not eat without needing to puke it up. This scene left a bad taste in the mouths of the people of Europe. They knew something was coming.