The Black Death was an extensive epidemic that spread across Europe from 1346 to 1353, killing over an estimated one-third of Europe’s entire population (Medieval World 56). Although historians are not entirely sure of its origin, the Black Death spread quickly across both Europe and Asia with a death toll that augmented rapidly. The plague also had unusual and deadly symptoms, causing “panic everywhere, with men and women knowing no way to stop death except to flee from it” (Kohn 28). The chaos created by the malevolent force of the Black Death impacted the society of Europe as a whole. Despite the extent of the Black Death, we know surprisingly little of it (Cartwright and Biddiss 38); however, historians have presented numerous theories …show more content…
The bubonic plague was the main contender of the Black Death (Byrne 15-16) which was primarily spread through the bacteria Yersinia pestis found in the stomach (Corbishley 47) of the Xenopsylla cheopis, a common flea (Byrne 197). The flea would then feed on a host’s blood, and regurgitate the bacteria into the host, causing the victim to become infected the bubonic plague (Nox). The Rattus rattus, or black rat, is considered to have helped the spread of the Black Death by carrying the fleas that carried the bacteria causing bubonic plague (Byrne 196). Upon infection of the bubonic plague, a variety of symptoms appeared quite quickly. During the first few days, victims would develop a headache, chills, a fever, weakness, an increased pulse, and a white tongue. As the disease progressed, red and black spots, also called gangrene, appeared due to the body’s tissue dying, and buboes, swollen lymph nodes filled with blood, puss, and bacteria, appeared on the victim’s groin, neck, and arm pits (Zahler 26-27). As the plague progressed, the bacteria began running rampant throughout the victim’s body, eventually developing pneumonic plague, a plague within the lungs (Cartwright and Biddiss 30). The symptoms of pneumonic plague mirror the symptoms of en exceptionally virulent pneumonia. Bubonic
The Black Death discusses the causes and results of the plague that devastated medieval Europe. It focuses on the many effects it had on the culture of medieval Europe and the possibility that it expedited cultural change. I found that Robert S. Gottfried had two main theses in the book. He argued that rodent and insect life cycles, as well as the changing of weather systems affect plague. He claimed that the devastation plague causes is partly due to its perpetual recurrences. Plague ravaged Europe in cycles, devastated the people when they were recuperating. As can be later discovered in the book, the cycles of plague consumed the European population. A second thesis, which he described in greater detail,
The first stage of the black death disease caused people to experience high fevers, weakness, jitters, and cold sweats. Other primary sources were coughing and dry/sore throats. A very obvious sign that indicated that you have been infected by this disease were the black and blue swollen lymph nodes under your arms or near your groin. These were referred to as “buboes”. These dark bubbles were filled with dead blood and pus. Once you started growing buboes like the ones shown on the next page, there was no way to get out of it alive. If left untreated the victim would die from so much of the built up blood being dead and if you
"The Black Death" is known as the worst natural disaster in European history. The plague spread throughout Europe from 1346-1352. Those who survived lived in constant fear of the plague's return and it did not disappear until the 1600s. Not only were the effects devastating at the time of infection, but during the aftermath as well. "The Black Death" of the fourteenth century dramatically altered Europe's social and economic structure.
The Black Death Black Death, epidemic of plague which ravaged Europe in the mid-14th century. Various forms of plague were known in the civilized world since ancient times. Greek and Roman historians described outbreaks of an epidemic disease which were sudden and deadly: at Constantinople in the 6th century AD, for example, as much as half the population may have been killed. The outbreak which reached Europe from China in 1347, and spread rapidly and with disastrous results to most countries, has been given the name the Black Death, though contemporaries did not use this term. Epidemiology of the Black
The Black Death consisted mainly of Bubonic plague, but pneumonic plague was also present in the epidemic. Symptoms of the Bubonic plague included high fever, aching limbs, and blood vomiting. Most characteristic of the disease were swollen lymph nodes, which grew until they
(Source 3) The Black Death arrived in Europe by ship in October 1347 when 12 Genoese trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after a long journey through the Black Sea. They were overcome with fever, unable to keep food down and delirious from pain. Strangest of all, they were covered in mysterious black boils that oozed blood and pus which gave the illness its name: the “Black Death.” Overall, the Black Death killed many people, which caused a huge change in medieval Europe. This is evident because there was a peasant uproar threatening the feudal structure; there were fewer labourers to do twice as much work; and the churches authority was question.
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.
The Black Death refereed in Philip Ziegler’s book takes place in Western Europe, and we learned the different civilizations during the Classical era in Western Europe such as the Roman Empire and the Greek empire. Moving on the Post Classical era, we learned how different regional authorities were established when invasions from the Magyar, Muslims, and Vikings happened throughout Western Europe; this is how countries like England, Germany, and France were ultimately established. This plague happened during the era after the Post Classical era and killed off more than one third of the population of Europe. Reading this book will allow people to understand the hardships that the population of Europe had to deal with.
The bacterium at first infected the fleas in black rats that, in turn, infected the rats as well. These rats/fleas would usually then travel to human towns or houses and the disease would be passed onto the humans. The plague did not only have one form. The bubonic form was only the mildest form of the disease. It had the normal symptoms of the sickness which eventually led to death.
Imagine the world as it is. There are many people living on the planet at a given time. Now imagine that out of the estimated 7 billion people on earth, about 4,200,000,000 people were suddenly eradicated because of a disease infesting just a part of the world. No, it isnt a scene or plot from a horror movie, this horrible reality is actually fact and has already happened in the distant past. I am talking, of course, of the Black Death of Europe. The Black Death or as its also known as “Bubonic Plague”, was a serious pandemic that infected Europe and nearly wiped out 60% of its population during its 2 year spread all across Europe. A rough estimate of about 60-200 million people were claimed as victims of The Black Death. At the time,
In “The Black Death” the author Phillip Ziegler attempts to fully describe the Plague that struck Europe in 1338 and remained until 1665. The year of the great Plague of London Ziegler tries to give an unbiased account of the Plague by compiling information from contradictory sources. Ziegler begins the book with the Tartans catapulting diseased corpses into Genoese as the Genoese escape back to Europe. Following this, the author provides some insight into the Plague in Italy, Germany, and France, in which he highlights the persecution of Jews, who became the scapegoat for the Plague in Germany. The majority of the book discusses the Plague in England, dealing with the people that died.
A plague is a bacterial infection that can take on more than one form. One of the greatest plagues that have stricken mankind throughout history was the Black Death. The Black Death was the outbreak of the bubonic plague that struck Europe and the Mediterranean area between 1347 and 1351. This plague was the most severe plague that hit the earth because of its origin (the spread), the symptoms, and the effects of the plague.
The black death was a disease triggered by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. Yersinia pestis is a bacterium transmitted by rodents,
In the middle of the fourteenth century, European experienced a disease called Black Death, which killed millions of people in six years. By spreading quickly, this disease affected not only on people’s lives but also on economic of many countries, especially those countries in Europe. Therefore, people found out some cures to end this nightmare disease.
The Bubonic Plague and a variation called the septicemic plague was spread throughout Europe by oriental rats that carried infected fleas. Little is known to why the infection never seemed to affect the carrier rats. Infected fleas were being starved by the infection, so they began feasting upon the people they came into contact with. These fleas coming into contact with any human being would infect the human with the disease. These people were now carriers of the Bubonic plague or Black Death. These infected people would then spread the disease by coughing or coming into direct contact with another human being. However, this disease, since not being transmitted via rat would now be called the Pneumonic Plague. (www.insecta-inspecta.com).