The Black Death was one of the worst pandemics in history. The disease ravaged Europe, Western Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa between 1346 and 1353 (Horrox 1994). It is difficult to understand the reality of such a devastating event, especially given the fact that science during the middle ages was severely underdeveloped. No one knew about bacteria, viruses, or other microbial agents of disease (Benedictow 2004). They had no way of protecting themselves during that time and no one was safe from the effects of the plague. Those who wrote chronicles claimed that only a tenth of the population had survived, while others claimed that half to a third of the population was left alive (Horrox 1994). In 1351, agents for Pope Clement VI predicted the number of deaths in Europe to be 23,840,000 (Gottfried 1983). Obviously, not all regions experienced the same mortality rates, but modern estimates of the death rate in England give the first outbreak a mortality rate of about forty-eight percent (Horrox 1994). That is, England lost half of its population in about a year and a half. Clearly the chroniclers ' who claimed that ninety percent of the population had died were overstating the magnitude of the plague, but this overemphasis demonstrates how terrifying the pandemic was to those who experienced it (Horrox 1994). The Black Death had huge consequences on the lives of those who were impacted directly, as well as major religious and cultural effects that came afterward.
Through the years of 1347 and 1350, a terrible plague took over Europe. In those three years, the plague killed approximately 25 million people or one-third of Europe’s population. Not one family did not lose a family member to the plague. About one hundred people died daily, and mostly of them were never buried in a proper manner. Their bodies scattered the street of the city unclaimed. This plague was the Black Death, the most deadly natural disaster in the history of Europe. The loss of life was tremendous, and the damage was immense. Across Europe, the Black Death appeared and disrupted people daily routine. The Black Death shattered the people of the Middle Ages ways of life. It demolished the economy and as well of traditional beliefs. There was no returning to the ways of Middle Age life that has been for the past five hundred years. The Black Death brought an end to the Middle Ages.
The Black Death, which swept across Europe between 1347 and 1351, had significance in all areas of life and culture: economic, social, psychological, and even religious. It ushered in a new age for all of Europe, in many ways speeding up the change from the medieval to modern era. In under a five year time span, one-third of Europe’s population died. There is some speculation that the toll was actually more than one-third, and could have reached as much as one-half. Entire towns and cities were completely decimated by the illness in extremely brief periods of time. The arrival of the plague, and the speed with which it spread, struck panic across the continent as a whole. It would be
The plague killed a lot of victims during the time of the 1348. Whole towns were whipped out, a quarter of Europe’s population was killed by the plague. The black death resulted in No one caring for money anymore which lead to small prices for everything. Cattle, sheep, crops, everything was left to itself and the Black Death also fell over animals. The black was killing everything in its path from animals to humans, doctors were dieing as well so there were very little doctors left to help. In the end it killed an estimated 1.5 million of the 4 million people living in Europe at that time. During the time of 1348 peasants went on strike and demanded higher wages, because there was barely anyone left to do specific jobs, so they demanded higher pay, or they would go else were to find someone offering a higher
News 1-The Black Death’s Wrath----- Once you find out that you have the plague, it’s probably too late. You start seeing swollen lymph nodes on your armpit or on your neck. You also get a fever, headache, and fatigue. Some people experience diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. Many cough up blood as well. You feel extreme pain in the abdomen region. It takes about three days until you die. There are some ways that you can avoid this. Many say it’s contagious and you have to stay away from the infected people. Some people even locked themselves into their own homes.
There were three major outbreaks of the Black Death pandemic in the world. In the history the Black Plague is also called as the Black Death or Bubonic Plague. This research paper will mainly cover the European outbreak of the 14th century as it is considered to be the era of the worst time of the Black Death period. Many historians would agree that the events of 1300s led to dramatic changes affecting every European country in all the aspects. Creating economic, social, religious, and medical issues, the Black Death caused renovation of the Europe. New circumstances forced Europe to reconsider its political system, improve the medicine and look at the situation from a different perspective, shifting from the medieval to modern society. Paul Slack, in his book The Impact of Plague in Tudor and Stuart England, provides a detailed description of the most affected places and the approximation of the victims, estimating that Europe had lost about one third of its population. Comparing to cholera the number of deaths caused by the Black Plague in England is doubled making The Black Plague the most devastating disease (Slack 174). In the book, The Black Death, Robert Gottfried examines the history of the Black Plague and its political consequences as well as social. He introduces the facts how the European population was affected in both positive and negative ways. From his writing it stood out that the lower class was affected the most as the conditions they lived in were worse
One could only imagine the fear the people in Europe experienced after learning of so many deaths across the land. Hearing of an illness heading towards you, a plague so severe, that it would end up causing a third of the population in Europe to parish. Originating in China in 1347 making its way to Europe in 1348, The Black Death is one of the worlds’ deadliest occurrences in history. The researcher will cover how the illness made its way to Europe, how the Church was effected, and what the doctors thought to be the blame for the illness and their frugal attempts for a cure. The social and economic ramifications of the plague will also be addressed.
If asked to perform a task or to accept a belief as the truth despite the asker’s justification contradicting the obvious, most people would laugh at the foolishness of such a request. After all, how can one be expected to wholeheartedly believe an argument when all evidence is pointing the other way? When told that a brown, oval-shaped object with white lace is a basketball, would one blindly submit to this new definition of a football without demanding evidence for the person’s claim? A similar situation occurred during the 14th century, as society began to fall into disarray. Not only did the Church, the most important societal establishment, begin to lose its supreme influence, but millions of people became ill and died as a result of
In a time when God was everything, death came among the rich, poor, sinners, and religious people in western Europe. Could this be retribution for the people’s sins and God has a plan, or would this be the fatal disease that would lead people to question their faith in God? Giovanni Boccaccio saw first hand what the Black Death did to his country, how disease flooded throughout and death was inevitable. Everything was changing, people were losing faith, the preservation of food, and simple customs like burial rituals started to disappear. Health and Religion were the key factors in the changing and modernization of early western Europe, these reflect on the poor hygiene, social order, decline in old customs and faith issues that occurred in the late Medieval world.
The year 1348 in Europe was known as the Worst year to be alive. This was because of a disease called the “ Black Death” The Black Death was a terrible disease that spread very rapidly across all of Europe.
‘The Black Death’ or ‘The Plague’ was the highly contagious epidemic that spread through Europe between 1347 and 1350. Fleas spread the Plague. It killed at least a third of the population in Europe and in Paris it is estimated 800 people died a day. The loss of population, however, wasn’t the only impact the Black Death had on Europe. The Black Death caused society to change in brutal but also positive ways. Religion took control in fighting the disease. People blamed other religions and thought God was causing the outbreak. The Black Death opened up opportunities for medicine to develop and doctors learnt more about the human body. However, no amount of praying and medical research could stop the Black Death’s natural course. As it spread throughout Europe the structure of medieval society changed. Peasants had new power and wealth and skills in trade spread. When the Black Death had finally left, Europe it was a changed nation.
In the 1300s, the Black Death swept across the western world, leaving behind a different perspective on the world. The Black Death rampaged through cities, killing thousands of people a day, leaving the remaining citizens distraught. With the multitude of death, many people began to contemplate what the afterlife held in store for them. Therefore, pieces like the Dance of Death, transi tombs, the Three Living and Three Dead, and many other artistic expressions about death began to appear. The artistic elements illustrate a complex combination of similarities and difference. However, the central theme focused on the inevitable fate of mankind.
Fear. Uncertainty. Survival. These three words became synonymous with life in Western Europe during the period of the Black Death. This grim period represents a dark era in European history when a devastating outbreak resulted in a significant amount of instability, decline in population, and economic, political and cultural upheaval. In the face of this terrifying calamity, human judgement was put to the test as fear and uncertainty made people react to the plague in extreme ways. Socially, the lack of understanding of the real cause of the plague and its widespread reach made people adopt drastic measures to combat it. Religious beliefs and superstitions also played a major role in the way people reacted to the plague as many believed that the plague was a punishment for their sins. The outbreak also brought to the surface human weaknesses such as greed and indulgence as people tried to take advantage of the situation for their personal gain. Even today, society faces turmoil as a result of disease, as in the case of Ebola, which caused significant amount of mayhem and fear in the beginning when it could not be contained.
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.
“Ring around the rosy, a pocketful of posies. Ashes, ashes. We all fall down.” Many children sing this popular nursery rhyme around the globe; the origins of this seemingly innocent poem, however, derived itself in the thirteenth century. This tune originated during the time of a calamitous pandemic that struck the Eurasian continent. Commonly known as the Black Death, the plague is one of the most disastrous events in Europe’s natural history. England underwent serious modifications concerning it politically, socially, and economically as a result of the contagion. The Black Death, a plague that devastated Medieval England from 1347 to 1351, tremendously modified the Middle Ages; the pandemic contains a complex history that drastically altered England’s economy and people’s religious views.
The Black Death is known as one of the most destructive widespread disease in all of human history. This pandemic hit Asia and Europe in 1347 to 1351, taking the lives of millions of people. The book The Great Mortality by John Kelly, discusses in depth the topic of the Black Death. John Kelly explores various different parts of this pandemic, such as what it was like for people during the time period and possible causes for the disease. In addition, he writes about the many environmental factors that brought about the origin of the Black Death and how catastrophic this pandemic was compared to other outbreaks. Lastly, Kelly examines the plague weakening the prestige of the church at that time and the persecution of the Jews.