The Bubonic Plague And The Renaissance

Another aspect of life that was highly affected was society. During the plague and after the plague society’s values and faith began to change. When the Black Death began taking the lives of the clergy just as well as everyone else, society began to wonder if the clergy were as powerful and as united to God as they had once believed, because no matter their prayer the plague was still raging. The people lost faith in the clergy and by the end of the plague the Church had lost its authority, not only for the reason

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

Prior to the plague the entire legal system relied on the church, the church made all of the decisions. The general population stopped backing the church because they believed that god would never do that to them so god must not be real. There was always the priests who said it was a punishment for sin but nothing added up for the people surrounded by death and loss. Since this abundance people stopped believing the church lost power, ”...the Church’s reputation never quite recovered, as the new priests who were quickly brought in to fill the void were not as scholarly or thoroughly trained as the old. It became more acceptable to malign the clergy in the years that followed…” (“Priests and the Black Plague”

The disease took a major toll on the population of Europe but as it wiped out communities it also caused changes in the social structure of European society. Europe was run by a feudal

The Black Death was the greatest biological destruction of all time. Originating in China, the Black Death spread through Mongol trade routes into Europe. Starting in 1347, Europe was ravaged by the the bubonic plague. The death toll was as high as 50 percent in many cities. With such a high mortality rate fear quickly escalated. Europeans' reactions to the plague varied greatly; many turned to faith and religion while others breed fear and violence. Explanations for why this devastation was occurring also varied, though the majority narrowed it down to god's wrath or scientific explanations.

The Black Plague, also known as the Bubonic Plague, is a severe pandemic that came from fleas, scientifically known as yersinia pestis, and rats. The disease started in China and spread 5 kilometers per day to Europe in 1347 killing two-thirds of the population within five years. Many people got acral necrosis, or a striking black discoloration of the skin black tongues, open wounds, black boils on the skin and a horrible odor, which eventually caused them to die within just a few days. This disease caused people to carry herbs around their necks to prevent the nasty smell, peasants even asked for more pay, and biological warfare begun. There is no cure for the black plague and many people blamed the Jewish people and Lepers and began persecution

This caused people to panic and they of course had to find someone to blame for this devastating event. Even the belief in witchcraft was brought into the matter. “People called the Flagellants believed that the plague was the judgement of God on sinful mankind.” These people traveled the country flogging people to rid themselves of their sins. Another religion that was brought into this was Judaism and they were blamed for “inciting God’s wrath.” With this, rumors about the Jews were spread, they were imprisoned, and it even went as far as burning them.

The Black Death or the bubonic plague was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people and peaking in Europe in the years 1346–53. The black death first appeared in Europe in 1347 in Sicily, the disease was most likely brought to Europe on a ship that had been trading on the black sea. The black plague was carried by flea-infested rodents and spread rapidly. Almost half of Europe was killed by the bubonic plague.

The bubonic plague was a devastating disease that rapidly swept across Europe. Also known as the Black Death, the plague spread from port to port and started to wipe out entire civilizations. All of Europe was eventually contaminated, with over two-thirds of the population dieing to the infectious disease. Believed to have started in 1346 when the Mongol armies overtook the Genoese trading outpost of Caffa on the Black Sea, over half the soldiers on the boat returned dead. The quickness of the infection and then death, brought a fear to these people they have never witnessed before. The sudden death caused by the disease created a paranoria among the people that Armageden had arrived.

People believed the sickness was a punishment for their sins against God. People began to punish themselves by self-flogging and beat themselves in order to rid themselves of their sins and abolish the plague. Monasteries were hit very hard by the plague since so many sick people took refuge there. The priests who delivered the final sacraments of death also passed away from sickness, leaving the churches with fewer clergy members. As the Black Death ravaged on, people began to lose faith or become angry at God for their losses and they began to realize that their religion could not do anything to protect their families from the disease. When the plague lifted, members of the clergy sought out replacements for their fallen colleagues, but the successors were trained sloppily and learned very little of tasks their predecessors. This may have furthered the corruption of the Church, since they recruited people they had little knowledge about. For other areas, the plague eliminated so many priests and members of the clergy that church services ceased

The Black Plague also known as The Bubonic Plague was a huge widespread plague that went through Asia and Europe. It reached Europe in the late 1340s and then carried on for centuries. It is estimated that 25 million people were dead; one in 5 residents was died. Many people were killed by the plague if not injured and barely living. The Black Plague affected many people.

The Bubonic Plague, also referred to as the Black Death was a catastrophe that took place in about 7 different countries starting in around 1346. The Bubonic Plague effected not only the health of the people around the region, but the culture (arts and beliefs) of the time as well. In approximately four years, it destroyed a third of Europe’s population and nothing was quite the same in Europe after that.

The disease took nearly 25 million people in Europe, along with a few more million in Asia and the Middle-East.(Holt Mcdougal.400) 9 out of every 10 people were killed.(Diane Zahler.86) The plague returned every few years, these periodic attacks further reduced the population, but the plague never came back at strong as the first outbreak. The plague destroyed families, towns, and cities, ripping apart society. Giovanni Boccaccio, an Italian writer from the time, described the epidemic. He wrote, “This scourge had implanted so great a terror in the hearts of men and women that brothers abandoned brothers, uncles their nephews, sisters their brothers, and in many cases wives deserted their husbands. But even worse,….. Fathers and mothers refused to nurse and assist their own children.”(Holt Mcdougal.399) People abandoned their families, and were too afraid to take care of the infected, which led to more deaths. Not only were the loss of lives tragic for families, but it also lead to other economic

Following many years of agricultural revolution and an increased population, Europe looked to be prospering. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Overpopulation, economic depression, famine, and poor health played a role in the reason Europe experienced the worst epidemic of their time. The Bubonic Plague, or the Black Death as it is also known, first emerged in 1346 in Constantinople. The Bubonic Plague was so devastating to European society because the European population decreased drastically, the plague spread very quickly, and there was little medical knowledge on how to treat the disease.

The Black Death, the bubonic plague, we’ve all heard about the illness that wiped out one third of Europe's population. The first outbreak of this terrible disease started in China in the 1330’s, and spread quickly through the rats that carried the disease; as well as fleas. This terrible disease killed many people, and did not die out until the 1600’s. For a better perspective, about twenty-five million people were killed in a span of five years.