The Black Plague in Florence 1348
Western Civilization & the World 1
An Essay
Page 1.
I am a lawyer living in Florence. The year is 1348. I am writing this
chronicle for my friend, Marchione di Coppo Stefani, as a strange and mysterious
plague of unprecedented proportion leaves many of our citizens dead within a
matter of days. I want to leave this as a legacy for those who may survive, as
I have no assurance that this dreadful disease will not claim me as it has so
many other good citizens of our city.
I have only been able to survive so far by confining myself to my
home. My rations to sustain me are few, and I am afraid that the water
and air outside is poisoned with what our citizens are
…show more content…
The apothecaries profited handsomely too- selling poultices of nettles, mercury and other herbs, that offered hope but no results. There seems to be no immunity. All other shops and guilds are closed, the owners either dead or having fled to the countryside for protection.
Social order has decayed. What townspeople there are left, go about the city drinking and carousing- looting through abandoned buildings with no regard to neighborhood courtesy. Some carry little flower bouquets called posies which they hold to their noses to quell the smell of rotting corpses, other carry herbs to ward off illness and they douse themselves in perfume, afraid to wash in contaminated water.
As a lawyer, I think about inheritances and heirs; Of all the nobility and palatial estates, with their beautiful gardens and renowned fortunes, who will be left to claim these now empty buildings if there are no rightful successors?
Perhaps they will become refuges for the poor, or Orphanages for children left parentless, masoleums and monuments standing silently, the only testament to the grandeur of Florence that existed prior to it's residents' pitiful demise.
Maidens, who would not consider baring their bodies in front of anyone but their handmaiden, now display themselves
However, the demise of approximately 76 million people from 1346 to 1353 culminated in the most severe disaster to ever hit Europe. It was referred to as the Black Death. This essay critically analyses the significance of the Black Death pandemic.
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
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.
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.
The 14th century was an era of catastrophes. Some of them were man-made, such as the Hundred Years' War. However, there were two natural disasters either of which would have been enough to throw medieval Europe into real "Dark Ages". The Black Death that followed on the heels of the Great Famine caused millions of deaths, and together they subjected the population of medieval Europe to tremendous struggles, leading many people to challenge old institutions and doubt traditional values. These calamities altered the path of European development in many areas.
When it comes to the Middle Ages all people think about are knights, kings, queens, and castles. But something happened during that period of time that changed Europe completely. The Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Plague or the Black Death, was one of the most deadly outbreaks in Europe. In total it killed about 75-200 million people in Europe and some parts of Asia. The plague spread quickly and if you got it, there was no cure. The Black Plague affected Europe with trade from the East, because of all the deaths it brought, because it caused political chaos, because it caused the people to question their faith, and because it led up to the regrowth of Europe.
The bubonic plague is believed to have begun in south China in the 1320’s. The virus that causes bubonic plague is carried in the saliva of fleas that use rats as hosts. When there was a lack of rats to host the fleas they attacked the human population. The plague moved to northern China with travelers and warriors. Once it made its way to the silk roads it quickly swept across the Mediterranean and as far north as Scandinavia. Prior to the expansion of the silk roads, China had been isolated from the rest of the world. If it had not been for the growing trade market and the heavily traveled silk roads, the plague wouldn't have been able to spread outside of China so quickly or maybe even at all. The hardest hit areas were urban areas along
The Bubonic Plague took the lives of many individuals in the heart of Florence. Its reign affected “not just that of men and women…but even sentient animals” (Stefani). While the plague only lasted a mere six months, from March 1348 – September 1348, it is a piece of time that society should forever acknowledge and learn from. Much of the significant information from the Bubonic plague are unbeknownst to people today, even though it possesses such an importance aspect in our history. Therefore, in this essay, I will discuss the effects the plague had on the people of Florence, and how the appearance of this plague brought about short and long term historical change what we see today.
European history. In the 1300’s, disease broke out in Asia and quickly spread to the
In the middle ages one of the biggest impact on society was the black plague. The black plague was huge, and went on for a long time. It had a lot of BACKGROUND and symptoms it, it effected the middle ages a ton, and the people came up with many weird was of trying to find a cure for it. The plague killed about 25 million people, about 1/3 of the population! Hope you learn a lot from this.
The Bubonic Plague otherwise known as the Black Death erupted in Italy in 1347 and by the time 1351 came around most of Europe had been struck with it. The Bubonic Plague was a sickness that ultimately caused your death. A bubo (black swelling) would occur in the groin area or underneath the armpit, in addition to that the sick would have sudden fevers and spit blood occasionally. People were so afraid of catching it they would avoid houses the sick lived in and relatives of the sick even abandoned them. When the plague finally left Italy the death toll was 96,000, all between the months of March and October. The Black Death impacted Italian life both socially, by restricting the citizens of Florence from doing anything, and politically by.
This essay will focus on the key elements that contributed to the spread of the bubonic plague in medieval Europe. Then, with reference to primary and secondary evidence, justify your opinion about whether Australia could experience a similar outbreak in the 21st century. The thesis for this essay is that Key elements contributed to the spread of the bubonic plague in medieval Europe. The three inquiry questions that will be answered are what were the key elements that contributed to the spread of the black plague in medieval Europe, how did the movements of people impact on the spread of the disease, what evidence there is about whether Australia could experience a similar outbreak in the 21st century.
The Middle Ages were a time of great human advances in medicine, education, and many very important aspects of society. All of these advances were helping the world advance quicker and quicker, they made many great leaps towards modern medicinal practices. They began to behave as a sophisticated economy that helped each other. This progress was all halted, or at least had a change of direction when the Black Death struck. The Black Death impacted so many different areas of society and how they approached social, economic, and medical issues.
One of the most well-known times throughout the Medieval Era was not only the most well-known, but probably one of the most deadliest that kill one third to one half of the population all throughout Europe and some of its surrounding counties, continents. More commonly all of Europe and counties within the continent of Asia were affected by this plague. Many men, women, children, animals and even livestock were killed did during this infectious disease era. This infectious disease is commonly known to be called the Black Plague or also known as the Black Death. This deadly disease had to be one of the most popular if not the number one event in the Medieval Era that forever changed that era and for the eras to follow.
As the plague developed into a pandemic, healthy people fled their communities to a more isolated enviroment becasue they were afraid of falling ill. A famous writer of the 14th century, Giovanni Boccaccio, wrote that he and everybody else asked the same questions: "What is causing this disease, and how can we stop it? How many people will get sick? Will I get sick?" (2). These questions often led to people abandoning customs such as going to church and having funerals for the dead.