In The Wake of a Plague, written by Norman Cantor, focuses on the Black Death and the combinations of effects that it inflicted upon 14th century Europe. Cantor identifies the drastic changes in the religious, social, theological, geographical, psychological and economic aspects of Europe; although, his most intriguing points include the biomedical effects within the Plague. He recounts specific events that lead up to the plague, occurred during the plague and speaks of the aftermath concerning the plague. He wrote the book in order to relate the experiences of victims/survivors, as well as illustrate the impact of the plague upon the social structure, government, etc.
The Black Plague, also know as the Bubonic Plague, was relentless towards everything it came into contact with. It left four out of five infected individuals dead within two weeks of being infected. There were very few, if any, medical advances during this period of time—the late medieval times; although, the citizens during this time period did believe that they had created a foolproof method involving mashed snake flesh. Eventually, it came down to the fact that there was no biomedical breakthrough to save the people of the 14th century. Although this news is devastating to hear, there is some news to rejoice. The descendants of survivors of the Black Plague may be immune to AIDS, approximately “15% of the Caucasian population” to quote Cantor. This news could potentially lead to a cure for AIDS.
Cantor
During the fourteenth century a disease ravaged across the middle east that calculated up to fifty million deaths and impoverished half of Europe. This disastrous disease had attained the nick-name, “Black Death”, referring to its high fatality rate. The plague, as some may call it, scattered amongst the whole world taking many lives because of the lack of medical attention or treatment and is even still around till this day. The Black Death is best understood through its symptoms, treatments, and death toll changing life in the fourteenth century.
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 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.
History reveals the mid-14th century as a very unfortunate time for Europe. It was during this period when the continent became afflicted by a terrible plague. The source of the pathogen is known today as bubonic but was colloquially known as “The Black Death” to Europeans of the day. The plague caused a tremendous number of deaths and was a catalyst of change, severely impacting Europe’s cultural, political and religious institutions.
Norman F. Cantor, a well known author who is a native of Canada. Majority of Cantor’s papers have to deal with the medieval period.
75 to 200 million people died from the Bubonic Plague it was estimated about 2\3 of the European population died. Bubonic Plague hurts the Immune system by attacking an invading it. The only way to stop the Bubonic plague is by antibiotics and prescription drugs that destroy the virus. If not treated it will enter the bloodstream and attacks the lungs. Which could give the body Pneumonic plague which is deadly and the Pneumonic plague will give people hepatitis which will give the body fatigue and muscle weakness. The cells in the body system fights off bad pathogens. It keeps the body from getting infected with viruses and diseases like the flu. The Bubonic plague entered the Immune System by changing it form to disguise itself so it will let it in when it is in the Immune System. It attacks by shutting it down and kills cells inside. So the body cannot fight it off. Then it enters the bloodstream and without the immune system it cannot be stopped because the immune system fights off the virus. And without it fighting off viruses the body is prone to any diseases and viruses like the t cell which keeps the flu virus away from the body. And the Bubonic plague kills the t cell which now it is prone to the flu. And it also attacks the b cell which makes antibodies which helps the body become healthier and safer.
The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, was a rapid infectious outbreak that swept over Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s resulting in the death of millions of people. Tentatively, this disease started in the Eastern parts of Asia, and it eventually made its way over to Europe by way of trade routes. Fever and “dark despair” characterized this plague. The highly contagious sickness displayed many flu-like symptoms, and the victim’s lymph nodes would quickly become infected. The contamination resulted in a colossal and rapid spread of the disease within one person’s body. Due to the lack of medical knowledge and physicians, there was little that people could do to save those dying all around them. Now that a better understanding of
The book When Plague Strikes, is about 3 deadly diseases. It 's about the Black Death, Smallpox, and AIDS. Each of these diseases can cause a serious outrage of death. The book also tells about how doctors try to come up with treatments, medicines, and antibiotics to try and cure these diseases. All these diseases got the best out of everyone. Some people reacted differently than others with these diseases. All the diseases came in play in A. D. 1347, when the Black Death broke out for the first time in what’s today is know. As southern Ukraine.
The plague was a catastrophic time in history, and happened more than once. It took millions and millions of people’s lives. It destroyed cities and countries, and many people suffered from it.
Norman F. Cantor, In the Wake of the Plague (New York: Harper Collins First Perennial edition, 2001) examines how the bubonic plague, or Black Death, affected Europe in the fourteenth century. Cantor recounts specific events in the time leading up to the plague, during the plague, and in the aftermath of the plague. He wrote the book to relate the experiences of victims and survivors and to illustrate the impact that the plague had on the government, families, religion, the social structure, and art.
When Bubonic Plague visited England in 1348, it was called the Great Mortality. We know it as the Black Death that lasted until 1352 and killed vast populations in Asia , North Africa , Europe , Iceland , and Greenland . In total, it extinguished as much as fifty percent of the world's population.
While the Black Death is still existent today, I was surprised to find that it actually was. There’s also a bit in the story saying that the Bubonic Plague was recorded in a lab, which is frightening in its own right. But it makes sense that modern day healthcare is able to overcome this disease of the
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.
Bubonic plague is an infectious disease that is spread by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. These bacteria remain in a dormant state primarily in a rat flea’s foregut. Once the flea has bitten a victim it regurgitates the contents in its foregut into the bite location. Once the bacterium has entered into a mammal’s warm body it begins to reproduce and spread throughout the mammal’s body. The reproduction of this bacterium creates large painful swollen lymph nodes which are called buboes. Once these buboes get large enough they begin to ooze infected body fluid so that any contact between an infected person and a healthy person will facilitate the spread of this disease. (The Mayo Clinic Staff, 2012)
It was a sad irony that the harvest of 1348 was a good one, but in