The Crusades: The Black Death

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

Focus Question : Why did the Black Death have such a devastating impact on Europe in the Middle Ages?

The plague, otherwise known as “the Black Death”, brought on much turmoil and suffering for the habitants of Pistoia. Numerous ordinances were put into effect with the primary goal of limiting the spread of the plague as well as to keep the city as healthy as possible. These ordinances typically focused on confinement, i.e. no one goes to Pisa and Luca and no one from Pisa and Luca is allowed to enter Pistoia (ordinance 1), how death and burials are to be processed (ordinances 3-12), and how butchers were to handle their animals and animal carcasses (ordinances 13-19). Essentially, confinement was targeted in hopes of stopping the spread of the infection while keeping the city isolated. Secondly, how the bodies of plague victims and their

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.

In the Middle Ages, nothing caused more chaos than the Black Plague. It was a large disease that spread all across Western Europe causing one-third of the population to disappear. As the Black Plague spread further and further, more problems erupted. People did not know how to react to the plague so they killed their neighbors. Cities were forced to raise taxes to pay for the expenses of the plague, but nothing could solve the large amount of debt that was due. The Black Plague led to the decline of feudalism because the problems it caused, led to more issues.

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in history. Many Western Europeans were living with this disease for nearly four hundred years. The disease was able to spread rapidly and affected Europe in many ways. Since this disease was rapidly spreading throughout Europe it scared many of the people during this time. Many historians considered the Black Death in the fourteenth century a turning point in Western European history. According to Streissguth, “Before the epidemic of bubonic and pneumonic plague died out three years later, it would kill more than one-third of the continent’s population.” Hundreds of thousand people died from this horrific disease which changed Europe forever. Near the end of the fourteenth century it was obvious to the people living during that time that the plague had become a regular and destructive aspect of life. The plague had left many rural areas untouched after the late 1300’s but the epidemic began almost every decade. When the Black Death began to spread across Europe it caused unimaginable fear, panic, and chaos for the people. The Black Death was an important turning point in Europe, where the economics, politics, and society would never be the same. The Black Death spread rapidly across Europe causing many people to become ill and die which resulted in social, economic, and religious upheavals.

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.

In 1346 European traders began to hear reports about earthquakes, floods, locusts, famine, and plague in faraway China. They knew very little then that the plague they were hearing about would follow the same trade routes to the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe that they themselves used. (doc. 1) In five short years, the plague killed between 25 and 45% of the populations it encountered. (doc 2) So how different were the Christian and Muslim responses? In 1348 Christianity and Islam came face to face with the Black Death. (doc. 3A) In truth, Muslims and Christians responded in many different ways. Their ideas for what caused the Black Death were somewhat different from each other also. Even the way they thought they could cure the

The Bubonic Plague, more commonly referred to as the "Black Death," ravaged Europe between the years 1347 and 1350 (Herzog, 2000). During this short period, according to Herzog (2000), 25 million people (which were about one third of Europe's population at the time) were killed. In another article, Herlihy (1997), however, claimed that two thirds of Europe’s population were killed. Nevertheless, it is ascertained that thousands of people died each week and dead bodies littered the streets. Once a family member had contracted the disease, the entire household was doomed to die. Parents abandoned their children, and parent-less children roamed the streets in search for food. Victims, delirious with

The crusades was a religious war between Muslims and Christians started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups. The crusades occurred in the Middle East between 1095 and 1291, there were nine crusades in total. Ask anyone if they’ve ever heard of the Crusades the answer would most likely be yes. But does that mean they know what the crusades were. No. And most people are unaware of the beginning of the bloodshed that took place. So what was the beginning? How did it all start?

The first crusade was the first Christian journey to Jerusalem, the holy land so that they could aid the Eastern Christians lay siege to the city and take it back from the Saracens, a name for the Muslims during the Crusades. In November 1095, Pope Urban II called for the first crusade and announced it at the town of Clermont, central France. He proposed that Christians go to Jerusalem to liberate the church in the name of religious devotion, a cover-up for people seeking honour or glory. The crusaders were mainly comprised of peasants from France and Germany. When the crusade began on the 1st of November 1098, Bohemund and Raymond Toulouse both claimed to be in charge; an argument broke out. While the Crusaders captured the town of Ma’arra, Bohemud returned to Antioch and captured the city for himself. Bohemund proposed that he would let Raymond lead the crusade if he could have Antioch, and so Raymond led the crusade. On 7th June 1099, the crusaders finally reached Jerusalem. It is said that as the great walls of the city came within sight they wept with joy, but this was not the end of their journey. Jerusalem had solid defence and was heavily guarded which presented a challenge for the Crusaders as they did not have the necessary siege equipment to break through the walls as that would require wood which was scarce. Then a priest had a vision that if the Soldiers marched around the city 3 times bare foot. The crusaders did this and within a week they took control of the

In the article, “The Nine Commandments,” David Noel Freedman unveils a connection between the ten commandments and the first nine books of the Bible. If Judges and Ruth are considered one book, and 1st and 2nd Samuel and Kings are each held as one book like they would have been in the Hebrew Bible, then there are nine books that make up the Primary History. Freedman discusses how each one of these books lends itself to one of the ten commandments and how Israel broke it. After the ten were all broken, then Israel and Judah are carted away into exile.

One of the most significant challenges faced by teenagers during their formative years is the task of remaining authentic to themselves. However, this is far from an easy feat, as Varian Johnson's short story "Black Enough" exemplifies through the experiences of Cameron, the protagonist. At a party with his cousins, Cameron becomes fixated on impressing his crush, Jessica Booker, and, in the process, loses touch with his true identity. He becomes disconnected from his genuine self and disregards the issues plaguing his community. By examining Cameron's character traits in "Black Enough," it becomes apparent that his insecurity and lack of consideration render him appearing unintelligent.

In the year 1348 the world changed forever. The Black Death, which is another name for the Bubonic Plague, laid havoc on the entire world. “The plague chases the screaming without pity and does not accept a treasure for a ransom. Its engine is far-reaching. The plague enters into the house and swears it will not leave except with all of its inhabitants…” (Al-Wardi, #29, 113). The plague did not care if the people were rich, poor, white, black, Muslim or Catholic, it would kill whomever it could. The plague brought out the worst in people because people acted selfishly, people were completely inhumane, and there was no peace.

Plato was a known and significant philosopher, who studied under Socrates around the 4th century B.C.E., in ancient Greece. One of Plato’s most famous works was the “Republic.” Based on Socrates’s influence on Plato, Socrates is usually one of Plato’s primary characters in his writings such as, “The Allegory of the Cave.” “The Allegory of the Cave,” illustrates the effect of education and the usefulness of describing a scene of prisoner’s in a cave and the one prisoner who became released from the cave. The two sources in book 7, describe the fire in the cave and the sun outside. Both sources represent knowledge, however, they have two different levels of knowledge: the fire in the cave represents the sun, and the sun outside of the cave signifies philosophical truth, knowledge, the form good, and justice.