The Plague: The Black Death

The Black Death, a horrible pandemic plague that spread through all of Europe, taking 25,000,000 people along with it. In 1347, a mysterious pandemic appeared in the city-states of Italy just as Europe was recovering from famine. The Epidemic did not end until 1351 partly due to the belief of the people that this plague was spread through the air and was gods way of punishing them for their sins. Although this plague killed many people, its effects led life to the way it is today. The three most important effects of the Black Death on Western Europe were the changing relationships between people and the church, the People beginning to express their faith and

The Black Death also known as the Bubonic plague was a deadly disease that swept through Europe in the late 1340s to the early 1350s, wiping out over twenty five to forty million people. It is called the Black Death because when victims got sick, they developed massive bulges on their bodies that turned purple and black. The bubonic plague originated in the arid plains of Central Asia, where it then travelled along the Silk Road, reaching Crimea by 1343. From there, it was most likely carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the black rats that would often get on merchant ships. In around 1347, the bubonic plague entered Europe through the cities of Constantinople, Genoa, and most famously the island of Sicily. Infected people came on ships and infected others in the city, the fleas from rats moved on to other animals, like horses and dogs that were often found living alongside humans, spreading that disease even more. And people leaving those cities, carried the disease with them to other cities in northern Europe through trading routes. By 1349, the plague had reached England and Norway. The plague scared people making them believe it was the end of humanity. The Black Death was a turning point in history because it killed one-third of the western European population, making it one of the most deadly diseases in the world.

The Black Death affected the European economy in a positive way. The biggest change, good for peasants, was the end of Feudalism. Feudalism is a social triangle that decided who obeyed who and many other unfair standards for all Serfs, the base of the pyramid. Due to the huge population deficit, Serfs were scarce and “Barons were now willing to pay higher wages and offer extra benefits. All their life they had lived off the serfs’ hard work, and were willing to pay them to stay on the manor to continue slaving for them” (Vunguyen). This gave the Serfs more power to ask for higher wages and the freedom to find more work if they do not get what they want. Serfs, or peasants, “began

The Black Death caused a better economy. Laborers caught the plague and lost their job because they weren’t able to work, or they died because of the plague. It says on Source Text One, that “As a result, wages and prices rose, but the overwhelming shortage of laborers meant that wages continued to rise.”

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.

The black plagues unfold so quickly that by 1350, fraction of Europe was dead. European economy and society changed drastically following the black plague. As a result of such an enormous quantity of people had died, there was a massive labor shortage. This contributed to the highest of the structure, since serfs could usually leave their manors and make a lot of sturdy living in cities. The plague to affected religion and art that became really dark and preoccupied with death. Several people believed that the black plague came from God's extreme anger at the earth.

The Black Plague outbreak was one of the scariest events in human history. The people were afraid to do everyday activities and carry on with their normal routines. This plague is known to almost every person on Earth. Even as a kid, teachers tell their students about this plague. Even the thought of an outbreak like the Black Plague makes people’s skin crawl. I am included in that category. It has gotten to the point that when any outbreak of any type or kind of disease happens that the world gets into panic mode. All of this panic comes from the Black Death. In this synthesis and analysis essay I will cover the places the Black Plague reached, the effects of the Black Plague, and the thoughts of the people that lived in

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.

Late Medieval Christianity in Europe was known for conflict and death. Terrible weather conditions made food production drop which led to starvation. A deadly plague, known as the Black Death, emerged. The economy was falling apart. Churches went from a place of safety to a place of wrongdoing, which ultimately led to the Hundred Years’ War. Despite this devastation, there was one influential mystic woman, Catherine of Siena, who was trying to bring everyone back to peace. Catherine devoted herself to religion at a young age. She wanted to work in the public and help everyone who was being affected by the plague, even with the risk of becoming infected herself. Since the Black Death started many significant issues that occurred in Europe during

“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.

One of the common deadly plaque that occurred in Europe history during the Medieval age period. Black Death is widely known as deathly plaque that kiled millions. Plaque is a bacterial infection and it is found commonly among fleas and rodents, such as rats. Fleas could jump into a human skin. However, its rats were commonly found carrying this deadly infection and could have affect humans. Black Death affected all the society, such as men, women, and including feudal system. Symptoms from Black Death including swellings—commonly in armpits and neck, dark patches, and coughing up blood. Black Death was the most deadliest plaque in the Medieval period. Since many people during the Medieval period didn't know were did the disease. Many Medieval

First of all, I am going to talk about the social and economic effects of the Black Death. The Black Death changed the relationship between the landlords or employers and the peasants or urban workers. Before the plague arrived, Europe, especially 14th century Britain, was terribly overpopulated so the landlords and employers were able

The Black Death was a catastrophic pandemic - a widespread disease, which spread over western Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe between the years 1346-1353. Playing an important role in history; a time known to have devastating effects and significant losses of population causing demographic impacts throughout the continents. Europe saw populations exponentially decline due to mortality rates during the outbreak. The Black Death killed tens of millions of people in Europe, this overall leaving the continent in misery and devastation during the presence of the outbreak and after. There have been historical accounts discovered and written over the centuries for example Giovanni Boccaccio 's description published in ‘The Decameron’ (1350) outlined some of the symptoms conveying the black death "first betrayed itself by the emergence of certain tumors in the groin or the armpits, some of which grew as large as a common apple, others as an egg" (Ewen Callaway 2011). During the Black Death, there was no knowledge of bacteria, viruses or microbiology leading to the ‘great majority of people believing that the disease was god 's punishment of their sins’. However over time few physicians who knew classical Greek medicine believe it was miasma. Miasma was pollution of the air by toxic vapors containing putrid matter which spread by the wind (Benedictow 2004). This gave people more scientific views on the origins of the black death even with little evidence or knowledge.

The Black Death strangled Europe in a multitude of ways; economically, population wise, and society. The Black death struck Europe killing approximately 50% of the total population within Europe, the death of Europeans also lead to the death of the economy. Europe before the plague was known to be within the high middle ages period, or years leading up to the renaissance and wide acceptance of humanist ideals. “urban life reemerged, long—distance commerce revived, business and manufacturing innovated, manorial agriculture matured, and population burgeoned, doubling or tripling”, life was alive and well before the plague; however, these changes portend the coming of a disease as life and people began to make contact on a larger scale, diseases would use these contacts to spread mass hysteria and destruction like the black death (Routt). Economically the medieval age was solely

Ghosts indicative of of historical disease are one fantastical element that Kushner uses to position the audience to highlight the seriousness of the AIDS epidemic. In relation to the black plague, Kushner uses the ghosts Prior I and Prior II to highlight to the audience the seriousness of AIDS and a likeness to other historical pandemics such as the Black Plague. Prior I says ‘The pestilence in my time was much worse than now. Whole villages of empty houses. You could look outdoors and see Death walking in the morning…’ (Kushner, 2013). Kushner explores the comparisons of the Black Plague verses the AIDS epidemic, showing the plague was worse, but the inserting how plague affected a wider group of people, where as the AIDS epidemic affected