The Plague Persuades Research Paper

Many people thought that it was a punishment from God, so this led to people about questioning their faith. This concerns the religious impact of the Black Death, the plague that devastated Europe during the middle of the fourteenth century. It goes into the effect of the Black Death on the Catholic Church and the religious movements that emerged in response to it. The Catholic Churches played a significant role during the Middle Ages because religion was an important aspect of daily life for European Christians. When the Black Death struck Europe somewhere around 1347, the Church struggled to deal with the plague’s “damaging consequences and its reputation suffered as a result.” (History.com, 2010) “ Moreover, a large number of Catholic priests died during the Black Death...this made it even more difficult for the Catholic Church to recover from the shaken faith of its following”. (History.com, 2010). Since many priests had died because of the plague, several uneducated people did not fully understand why this disease was spreading around. They last almost all their faith in God which led to fewer people going to church and practicing their faith. This concludes that the “Black Death contributed to the decline in the confidence and faith of the Christian laity towards the institution of the Church and its leadership”(History.com, 2010). During the middle ages, Catholic Churches held enormous power in Europe and were still very religious and political even after the impact of the Black

The plague was a disease that devastated Europe and the Christian population. Christians handled the plague very differently than the other groups it affected. The mortality rate for European Christians was an estimated 31%. (Robert S. Gottfried, The Black Death, New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1983.) They believed the plague was a cruel and horrible punishment on the men, women, and children of their society brought upon them by God.

In addition, the new devaluing of life and questioning of the Church, the fabric that held society together society was ripped. The plague affected everyone from kings to peasants. Soldiers who

The black plague had many effects on medieval Europe after it killed 31% of their population. These effects were harsh on most people and it did have some benefits but they were very small one to very few people. Some of these effects were that people lost their faith in the church, most of the high class people were beginning to become very poor and the lower class people, or the peasants, were starting to become rich, and many Jewish people were murdered.

In 1348, a plague arrived that caused severe damage in many countries in Europe. The plague made a significant impact on the country, and it ending up killing fifty million people, which was sixty percent of Europe’s entire population (Slack 432). All of the deaths from the Black plaque it caused many different social and economic effects in Europe. Along with devastating effect, there were positive, social and economic changes resulting from the Black death including higher wages, better lives for the lower class and more land and food.

Historians find it difficult to establish a true starting point for the Renaissance within the Middle Ages. One of the most impactful events on what would become the Renaissance was the Black Plague and its impact on the living conditions of people in Europe. The Plague provided two issues which brought the Renaissance, a widespread decrease in population and a wider spread of distrust for the church. After the end of the plague, a rise and change in education, epitomized by humanism, provides the second spark of the Renaissance. Humanism brought focus on the current time on Earth, a break from the church’s focus on the afterlife, as well as the newly formed liberal education. While the Black Plague and Humanism can be thought as catalysts

“The pandemic lasted until 1351, but smaller outbreaks (epidemics) continued off-and-on for decades” (Black Plague: Least you need to know). As time went on, sanitation and public health practices greatly mitigated the impact of what was once the worst disease in Europe. Every few generations the Black Death would reappear for a short while, claiming the lives of only a few victims instead of millions. It had ran it’s course, rampaging from town to town and port to port, stealing the lives of men, women, and even children. After these hard times, people changed the way they acted and viewed everything and the church changed for the better so God would not want to unleash his wrath, again. The Black Death was now over which left room for new ideas and new diseases, cholera, typhoid fever, and tuberculosis were now the most significant reasons for death. This was the end of the greatest impact on

In the 1300s, Western Europe was enveloped by the dark ages. Living conditions were harsh, and the church was set upon a pedestal as a shining light through the darkness. In 1347, the bubonic plague made contact in Sicily, Italy. From there the disease spread rapidly, and within less than a year reached England where it was given the name of, ¨The Black Death.1 The second pandemic in world history, it would prove not to disappear until the 1600s.2 During this span of destruction, many changes took place involving the church. A product of the conflict left by the plague, Martin Luther's 95 theses in 1517 is only one example of changing views.3 The Black Death modified the view of death, revealed

The Black Death was a tragic pandemic that changed Europe dramatically. The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic plague, killed millions of people throughout the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Black Plague occurred in this time period because trade and commerce started to develop rapidly. After new trade routes had been opened, a ship coming back from Asia picked up some fleas and rodents that were carrying the disease. Once the disease hit Europe, it spread rapidly and killed millions of people. The late middle aged Europeans during this time lived in constant fear of death. Most of them would remain inside their houses, trying to avoid any contact with the outside world because they feared that they would develop the disease. In the end, every citizen was aware that he or she could not escape death because eventually the Black Death would reach them. This sparked creativity and inspiration in Europeans. The people all over Europe started creating new ideas and developing theories based on society all because they feared that the Black Death would take their lives. With this new profound sense of knowledge, there were new developments in science, literature, and society that would ultimately help humanity flourish as a whole. Being surrounded by death and the fear of it, it eventually helped society change for the better.There would be no change in society if the people of Europe had not been surrounded and inspired by death. Death played an important role by

One major area of intellectual life and culture that the Black Death brought upon Eastern and Western European life was on religion. For the sake of brevity and clarity, I will focus primarily on the impacts the plague had on the Church and the Jewish people of Europe. Throughout the many years of the Bubonic Plague, the Church held decisive position. Much of the scientific knowledge for healing during the medieval era came from Church theology and spirituality. This meant that those who served the church, priests and other clergymen were in high demand for healing. Laws were passed in which members of the church would receive percentages of noble lands and estates, which would act as a financial shield from the plague (Zapotocsny, 1-2). This mentality is not surprising, though. With a plague as deadly and hard to comprehend as the Black Death, it is absolutely reasonable that those with wealth should turn to the church, the only institution which claimed any understanding of such a deadly manifestation, God’s punishment of man

One of the most devastating pandemics in history during the 14th century caused turmoil and massive death amongst Europe. The disastrous disease known as the Black Death ultimately wrenched society in melancholia and disseverment. As a result, a series of social and economic upheavals had a profound effect on society; creating lack of optimism of better days. The people suffered religiously because the pandemic displayed a darker side of life leaving them to question their beliefs. Eventually, such upheavals relinquished and a sanguine time befitted Europe. Although the black plague claimed the lives of millions and placed kingdoms in turmoil, the plague actually improved economic conditions for its survivors. Depopulation allowed wealth for many people and Europe was on its way into a new age of prosperity.

The Black Death caused many social impacts and mental symptoms. The public in Europe couldn’t keep up with burying the dead, so they were equally afraid of a spiritual death as a physical one (“History”). Many people lost their faith in God during the Black Death

Throughout Europe there was a “declining moral standard” because people knew they were likely to die and therefore didn’t care about the consequences of their actions. Because of this people turned to crime and major cities saw a substantial increase in their crime rate. There was a rise especially in sacrilegious crimes. Since no one actually knew how the Plague had started, the people had no rational explanation of it so some Europeans looked to God and religion. People blamed God and in turn robbed and attacked Churches for their wealth. However, reversely other people began “extreme religious movements” to repent for their sins, thinking that God created the Plague to punish them. White hooded pilgrims called Flagellants walked the streets whipping themselves to seek forgiveness for their sins. Finally, many others believed that the plague was precipitated by the Jews. They believed that the Jews were “plotting the extinction of his church” and “planned to wipe out all the Christians with poison” by putting bags of poison in wells and

     The rats did it! Rats, almost single handedly, killed off about a third of the

The Great Plague killed nearly half of the European population during the fourteenth century. A plague is a widespread illness. The Illness was also known as the “Black Death”. Most of the European people believed the plague was the beginning of the end of the world. They were scarcely equipped and unready for what was to be entailed. It was by far one of the worst epidemics yet to be seen in those times.