The Europeans’ response to the Black Death were extremely varied in many aspects: social, economic, religious, artistic and medical. Two moments need to be analyzed when talking about the people’s response to something, the during and the after. At the very beginning of this chaos, when the plague was just starting to hit Europe, the response was very “medieval”. However, after some time suffering from this horrendous disease, and after it slowed down, Europeans started to view things differently, responding with characteristics of a “Renaissance” outlook. This episode in history served as a rebirth of culture and society.
When the plague was on its way into Europe, the society’s response was not good, and that directly affected the economy.
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A lot of methods that were proposed to people were very medieval. For example, doctors would tell sick patients to avoid shower, to bleed out until they lost consciousness, (”I have seen people who prophylactically gave up to 8 pounds of blood; most people gave about 5...” document 13, page 58). With a lot of observation (and that is what many doctors did, only observe, so they would not have contact with the plague), doctors started to notice different types of the disease (as one of the chroniclers stated on Document 6, page 32: “And it is said that the plague is of three different types of infection”), and the symptoms as well (“In January 1349, there appeared new symptoms” document 19, page 84). Many doctors were criticized because of their greed, cowardice and impotence. To make money, doctors would visit patients and prescribe their remedies. However those would not work, proving that their art was false. Some doctors even thought of poisoning coming from the Jews could be the reason of the plague.
If the Black Death was good for something, it was medicine. It proved that medieval medicine was a disaster, and consequently there was a complete reform. There was an increase in professionalism and licensed medicine. Doctors started to use more traditional practices (based on actual evidence, and not guesses), rather than empirical observation. This response has also more characteristics of a “Renaissance” outlook because of the new things it brought. Medicine was never the same after the Black Death hit the
Doctors responded with a series of changes are to thank for the development of modern science. Gottfried succeeded in convincing me that his thesis was truth. The opening chapters gave me a solid background of plague, explaining why he believes it had such an impact on medieval population and culture. Next, it delves into the affect that changing weather had on the plagues, explaining the European environment during 1050-1347; the time of plagues greatest destruction. That complete, Gottfried describes the consequences immediately following the plague. It is said that the disease killed 25% to 40% of Eurasia and part of Africa. By this point, it is more than obvious that plague had a tragic affect on Medieval Europe, but it is unclear as to the causes, and the effect plague had on society, which seemed to be his theses in the opening chapters. But he does not ignore these topics. After giving a full background on plague and European culture and environment, Gottfried gives solid details to support his theses. According to Gottfried, the Medical structure of Medieval Europe, adopted from that of the Romans, was nearly eliminated in the search for ways to cure plague. The spread of plague, successfully stated by Gottfried, directly depends on climate. Plague can only spread under certain climate conditions. In order for Y. Pestis, a series of complex bacterial strains, to survive, it mustn't be too hot nor too cold.
During Europe’s boom in trade more advanced ways of cargo shipping and sea travel were developed, but with this advancement also came the transport of disease. The most deadly of these new diseases was the well-known Black Death, which starting in 1347 took its toll on Western Europe. Throughout history, when faced with hard times, the true side of humanity can be seen; during these times humanity often reverts back to their roots whether those be the barbaric or the amiable. During the Black Death civilizations did just that; the chaos stricken communities of Europe responded in various ways some more righteous and beneficial, and others negative and barbaric.
Now, what was the plague? It wasn’t just one disease, it was a combination of three bacterial strains: bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. If you got it, the least dangerous was the bubonic. You would get a high fever, chills, buboes, rapid heartbeat and vomiting, within 3 to 6 days of having this, up to 50-80% of the victims died. Pneumonic, which was less common, infected the respiratory system and killed almost all its victims taking only hours to do so. Last, was septicemic, this type infected the bloodstream, which ended up killing all who got it. But, either way, whichever form you got you would still end up dying. And although this happened in the 14th century, this was not the first time the plague had gone around. It went to Europe in the 18th century and into Africa and Asia the 20th century.
In the early 1300s, life in Europe was completely normal. The plague had yet to even be a thought in their minds. Many people had heard a rumor
The Black Plague, one of the most devastating out breaks in history, is an historical event brought about with a great depression throughout Europe. This plague brought out the worst in mankind during the time the plague ran its course. How do people behave, when there environment becomes life threatening? (Herlihy, 18). The Black Death accounted for nearly one third of the deaths in Europe. Due to the death of many people there were severe shortages in labors, during these dreadful times. There were riots throughout Europe, and the great mortality brought on by the plague ripped society apart. Individuals were fearful searching for explanation, but in the end the plague gave rise to the survivors such as
Before the Black Death, life in Europe was genuinely stable. People got sick, but doctors were there to treat them. The economy was not perfect, but it was able to provide the people with what was needed. The social aspect of Europe was run by the feudal system, similar to most other civilizations during this time. This all changed when the plague struck. Doctors no longer understood how to treat their patients infected with the plague. The social order was completely disrupted and people began questioning their identity. The economy began to crumble due to the fast spreading disease. This killer disease completely transformed the lives of Europeans. The widespread outbreak of the Bubonic plague impacted fourteenth century Europe in ways such as advancements in medicine, major changes in society and almost destroying the economy.
The Black Plague (also known as the Black Death or Bubonic Plague) of the 1300s is considered by many historians to be one of the most influential events in the history of Europe. Originating in Asia, the Black Plague has three forms; Bubonic which affects the lymph nodes, pneumonic which affects the lungs, and septicemia which affects the blood. Through examining the effects of the Plague on Europe and its people, it is clear that politics, social life, and economics were all irreparably thrown off balance. Perhaps the part of Europe disturbed most by the Black Death was politics.
The plague of the black death was a panic and disaster in Western Europe because it leads the death of ⅓ of the population. It quickly spread all over the continent, destroying full towns and cities. Moreover, the plague reached its peak of destructions in 1349, which was a “wretched, terrible, destructive year, the remnants of the people alone remain.” Life before the black death arrived for the serfs it was unpleasant and short. Nevertheless, Europe before the black death arrived was successful and the trade at the time was strong. The spread of the plagues was traumatic and unexpected because it spread so quickly.
Around the late 1300’s something big came into Europe, something that would drastically change the country for the better. The plague, also known as ‘black death”, killed almost half of the European population. This led to economic depression. Merchants and traders had fewer people to sell goods to, so a lot of money was lost. At least 75 million people on three continents perished due to the painful, highly contagious disease. The Black Death originated in China or Central Asia and was spread to Europe by fleas and rats that resided on ships and along the Silk Road . The Black Death killed millions in China, India, Persia (Iran), the Middle East, the Caucasus, and North Africa. To harm the citizens during a siege in 1346, Mongol armies may have thrown infected corpses over the city wall of Caffa, on the Crimean peninsula of the Black Sea. Italian traders from Genoa were also infected and returned home in 1347, introducing the Black Death into Europe. From Italy, the disease spread to France, Spain, Portugal, England, Germany, Russia, and Scandinavia. Depopulation and shortage of labor hastened changes already inherent in the rural economy; the substitution of wages for labor services was accelerated, and social stratification became less rigid. Psychological morbidity affected the arts; in religion, the lack of educated personnel among the clergy gravely reduced the intellectual vigor of the church. Once the plague came to an end in the 15th century, a new movement in art
Everything gets worse before it gets better. A bruise turns into a gaudy green pigment before it fully heals; a rainstorm sends hail falling from the sky, impaling anything it sees, right before a beautiful rainbow appears; the red fleshed pimple on one’s face continues to grow bigger and bigger until it spontaneously disappears. A catastrophe can lead to success and hope, much like the Black Death leads to the Renaissance. The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics that resulted in one-third of europe’s population to die. Despite all the death and evil the Black Death brought, it has a good outcome - The Renaissance. The Black Death was the catalyst of the European Renaissance because of the effects it had on the European economy, artistic expression, and technological advances.
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.
"The Black Death" alone was not the only factor that was responsible for the social and economic change although it was the most important (Ziegler 234). Even without "The Black Death" continued deterioration in Europe would have been likely. The social and economic change had already set in well before 1346. For at least twenty-five years before "The Black Death," exports, agricultural production, and the area of cultivated land had all been shrinking. "The Black Death" contributed a large part to all of this destruction and led to important changes in the social and economic structure of the country (Ziegler 234-235). The plague touched every aspect of social life (Herlihy 19). There was hardly a generation that was not affected by the plague (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). Families were set against each other - the well rejecting the sick (www.byu.edu). Families left each other in fear. Many people died without anyone looking after them. When the plague appeared in a house, frightened people abandoned the house and fled to another (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). Due to this, the plague spread more rapidly because people were not aware that being in the same house with the infected person had already exposed them to it. Physicians could not be found because they had also died. Physicians who could be found wanted large sums of money before they entered the house (www.jefferson.village.virginia.edu). When the
The Black Death, the plague that ravished Europe has been a topic that has intrigued historians for generations. During the events of the bubonic plague, almost a third of Europe’s population succumbed to the deadly disease. The devastation didn’t end there the economy and agriculture system took a major decline as an after effect as well. There are many historians who have examined the topic in detail.
The Black Death, according to Joseph P Byrne, was “a deadly epidemic that spread across Asia and Europe beginning in mid 1300’s.” It did not take long for the plague to make a big impact on the world. “By the spring of 1348, the Black Death, also known as Black Plague, spread to france, The Alberium Peninsula, and England, following trade routes and hitting big cities first before spreading to the countryside,” states Gail Cengage. In the 19th century, Europe was devastatingly hit with this epidemic that affected them greatly then and now. The Black Death in Europe affected 19th centuries economics, population, and literature. Its effect on Europe is an interesting topic that shaped history and our lives today. This topic is widely covered as Molly Edmonds writes her findings from other sources. These sources will be used to describe the effect the Black Death had on Europe.
The Bubonic Plague or Black Plague devastated Europe in the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries killing anywhere from twenty to twenty-five million people or about one-third of the continent’s population. At the time, medical knowledge was not competent for understanding why the deadly pathogen was spreading; therefore, the plague radiated like wildfire. The Europeans believed that the plague was a sort of divine punishment for the sins in which they had committed, and they had no idea there was a scientific explanation for the epidemic. Among the masses affected by the calamitous plague, there was a broad spectrum of responses in which the Europeans took part. Three major responses that were most apparent in the