Annotated Bibliography: The Black Death

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 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.

Around 1339 in northwestern Europe, the population began to outgrow the food supply and a severe economic crisis incremented. The winters were inordinately cold and the summers were arid and dry. Due to this extreme weather, a minute number of crops could produce and those that grew were dying. On the wake of these seven distressing years of weather and famine was the greatest plague of all times, The Black Death. In 1347 AD, The Black Death began spreading throughout Western Europe. Over the time span of three years, the widespread epidemic killed one third of the population in Europe with pretty near twenty five million people dead. The Black Death killed many more Europeans than any other endemic or war up to that time, vastly impacting the Church, the people, and the economy. These three social backbones were changed forever.

One of the well known massive disasters that happened in the history of European is the “Black Death.” This fatal plague led to huge loss of between 17 million and 28 million lives in whole Europe. It took place from 1345 to 1353 and the death arrived by sea during the time when twelve Genoese trading ships had actually docked at the Sicilian port after travelling through the Black Sea. A horrifying surprise befell the individuals who were gathering on the docks when they realized that a great number of sailors had died, and the lucky sailors were extremely ill. In addition, they were covered by mysterious black boils which oozed pus and blood (Cohn, pg 514). This is why they named this kind of illness as the “Black Death.” Then what followed were other various symptoms such as vomiting, fever, diarrhea, chills, severe aches and extraordinary pains- and then death.

The Black Death was a bacterium which was carried by flea infested rats. This disaster spread across Europe quite rapidly.

Medieval times saw an age of countless wars and bloodshed. From Persian conquests and Viking massacres, to Crusades and The Hundred Years War, Europe was no stranger to tragedy. Unfortunately, in the mid 1300s, there was an attack they never saw coming; a bloodthirsty raid unlike anything they had ever encountered. This invader had no mercy, killing all who came in his path and no one was prepared to fight back. He had no preference in victims; men, women, and children; Jews, Christians, and Muslims; even animals all fell prey. This ruthless intruder was the bubonic plague known as The Black Death. Historian, Ole J. Benedictow refers to the epidemic as “The Greatest Catastrophe Ever,” but just how devastating was it and what was the lasting impact?

swelling of the armpits and groin. As Boccaccio describes " some of which were as big as

The Bubonic Plague was one the largest pandemics to sweep through Europe. It occurred during the late 13th century through the early 14th century affecting over 75 million people (“How”). The plague first hit Asia, then Europe, next to Scandinavia, and finally making its way to Russia (McCabe). The Black Death’s- another name for the plague- origin has been speculated by many different scientists over the years, but it has

trouble breathing, chest pain, cough, fever, headache, overall weakness, bloody sputum (saliva and mucus or pus from the lungs)

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.

This essay discusses the Black Death, which was a fatal plague that killed millions of people across the world and how the Black Death was transmitted will be further explained in the essay. The Black Death disease commenced in China and it spread to Europe, which is also further explored. The long and short-term effects will be identified. There are three different known plagues that are known as the bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, and septicemic plague, but they were not all of them were transmitted in the same way. This plague commenced in the 1300's when symptoms began to appear and the outbreak was minimised a few years later.

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 London Plagues refers to two periods of disease outbreak in England. One plague, the Black Death, began in 1348. Another plague, the Great Plague, began in 1665. Both of these outbreaks killed a substantial amount of the population at the time. The plague exists in two forms: bubonic and pneumonic. A bubonic plague is spread by flea bites and results in painful sores on the body. A pneumonic form of the plague is airborne and spread by coughing and sneezing. Both the Black Death and the Great Plague existed in both forms of plague that resulted in widespread death and affected permanent change in English society in different ways.

The spread of the Black Death across Europe in the fourteenth century had a major impact on the areas directly affected by it, but it also instilled change all over the world. Following the initial loss of life that put strains on social, political, and economic systems, the aftermath of the plague, as it is referred, brought both positive and negative changes.

The Black Death by Robert S. Gottfried, tells the story of the deadly plague and the following second plague pandemic that swept across Europe in the mid fourteenth century killing about half of the population. The book explains how the many factors lead to the plague becoming very enormous throughout Europe such as the environment and the great empire of the Mongols. The history of medieval Europe from the book gives the reader a dramatic glimpse of the awful conditions that were present in the time of the diseases.