The Decameron is a frame narrative written by Boccaccio. He is writing about the Plague he witnesses in the city of Florence. The Plague is called the “Black Death” which kills thirty percent of Europe’s population. This story explains how serious this disease is because it shows how men and women fled from Florence to a countryside to prevent from catching it. The disease is carried by flees, unfortunately, there were rats on the ships heading to Europe, the flees would bite the rats and then the flees bite the humans who eventually contracted this disease. These people are not aware of this in this time period and have several different assumptions on what is really causing this outbreak. The uninfected talk about what the Black Death is, the causes of the disease, how contagious this plague is, and the effects it has on their society and their responses to the plague.
In the middle ages people had no idea about how any disease such as the Black Death could spread. The Europeans think “it disseminated by the influence of the celestial bodies, or sent upon them by God in his just wrath” (Boccaccio). In other words, they think the plague came from the sky or sent by God. They think maybe it is God’s way of cleansing the earth or punishing them for their unfair behaviors. Some think that a supernatural origin caused the disease. This disease is a bacterium infection which has a variety of symptoms, such as, nose bleeding, tumors in the groin or armpits and black spots or
(Source 3) The Black Death arrived in Europe by ship in October 1347 when 12 Genoese trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after a long journey through the Black Sea. They were overcome with fever, unable to keep food down and delirious from pain. Strangest of all, they were covered in mysterious black boils that oozed blood and pus which gave the illness its name: the “Black Death.” Overall, the Black Death killed many people, which caused a huge change in medieval Europe. This is evident because there was a peasant uproar threatening the feudal structure; there were fewer labourers to do twice as much work; and the churches authority was question.
In the 14th century, Europe encountered horrific turn of events in the lifestyle they lived in. Events such as war, famine and disease were brought upon the people of Europe devastation. With no evidence on the exact date on when Black Death started, the plague evidently caused an economic depression amongst the society but also superimposed the ideas of the people as to how and why the plague came about. However, the followers of the Catholic Church believed it was a message from God and that the apocalypse was upon them which was essentially the belief of the cause of the Black Plague. Historical/Scholarly Standpoint Several Historians believe that the Black Death originated from Southern China by twelve Genoese galleys1
The word “plague” is defined as a contagious bacterial disease characterized by fever and delirium, typically with the formation of buboes, and sometimes infection of the lungs. The article entitled, “On the Progress of the Black Death”, written by Jean de Venette, a French Carmelite friar who was a leading clergyman around Paris at the time of the Black Death, is a well-known account of the spread of the plague in Northern Europe. In this account, Jean de Venette explained the history of the plague, its causes and its consequences.
In the 1300’s, the plague first started in Europe. After the plague killed many people, they changed their culture and the way they lived to stop it from spreading. Everyone had many ideas on what causes it but it was mainly from rats and pollution. There was waste in the streets and the water was polluted.Also the houses were so crowded together that if one person got the disease it would spread fast. They also thought it was a punishment from God. So they tried magic spells,charms and talismans to try to remove their sins. People also burnt herbs because they thought the smell of the dead bodies caused the disease. Everyone had different opinions on what caused it and there are many ways it could have happened (The Black Death).
The Black Death “bubonic plague” was not picky when choosing its victims during the medieval times and thrived in heavily populated areas. The symptoms of the Black death were, “boils the size of eggs in their groins and armpits, black blotches on their skin, foul odors, and severe pain” (The Earth and its People pg. 309). The sudden occurrence of the Black Death is still not fully known, but “The origins of the Black Death can be traced back to the Gobi Desert of Mongolia in the 1320s.” ( Geoffrey), by fleas, mosquitoes, and rats transferring the Yersinia pestis bacteria. The plague had major effects on trade, the economy, social status, and the religion of Europe and China. However, out of all the bad things about the Black Death, good
Around 1339 in the northwestern part of Europe, the human population was descending due to a numerous amount of reasons. Europe was struggling with food supply, economic crisis, weather conditions, and a horrific disease known as the Black Death. The Black Death was responsible for the majority of the population. This disease has several names, such as the Black Plague, the Bubonic Plague, and etc. This horrific disease originated from fleas that lived on rats. The Black Plague spread in several ways; pneumatically or systemically. The pneumatic version of the disease was formed in the lungs, allowing it to spread frequently and easily. The systemic form was spread by being in contact with an infected person’s blood. The Black Death killed more Europeans than any other endemic or war up to that time, greatly impacting depopulation, Church life, and economy. (The Black Death; Section 1)
The Black Death was one of the most life-changing pandemics in history. It was first discovered 550 years later in the 1800s by Alexandre Yersin, a french biologist. In his honor, the plague was named Yersinia Pestis. The plague traveled in two major ways. Yersin discovered that it traveled by infected fleas; the flea would attempt to feed on a human or animal and would then regurgitate the disease into the new host, further spreading the illness. Urban areas across Europe were populous with rats, which were one of the main hosts of the plague. These rodents spread the Black Death throughout cities in days. The unaffected still were not safe if they did not come in contact with an infected flea or rat. The plague also traveled pneumonically, or through the air. It caused large boils full of blood and pus, which would pop and spread. Another symptom was coughing, which was one of the many ways of proliferation. The disease eventually spread throughout Europe and killed a third of it’s population. It’s wrath caused many shortages, loss in hope, riots, and even some good things, such as many changes in art, science, and education. Therefore, the Black Death was one of the most life-changing pandemics in history.
The Black Death ( or Black Plague) was a very harmful disease at that time period. Not as common today although you can still catch it.. It was very common in Europe and the Middle East around that time period. There were a lot of differences based on religion and the way people looked at the disease. The Christians and the Muslims did have a few comparisons but overall the disease was looked at it different. The Black was caused by a flea that was taking blood from a rat and when the rat died the flea was trying to find another host as soon as possible. Some symptoms were a big growing of buboes, fever, headaches, etc… Two ways it was spread was the popping of buboes and fleas.
Sometimes the missteps of the medical community went so far as to cause inadvertent harm. Jacme D’agramont, physician and professor, writes in his “Regiment de preservacio a epidimia o pestiliencia e mortaldats” of the dangers of bathing because it opens one’s pores and “through these pores corrupt air enters and has a powerful influence upon our body and on our humors.” (Aberth, 1186). The entire period was wrought with novelty cures and hypotheses about overcoming the plague, and so often these approaches failed that eventually the people would find solace wherever they could. Even art had a voice in coping with the Black Death. Much of the art was not only therapeutic for the artists and those who enjoyed them but they serve as an insight into the shared setiments of the time. These pieces understandably emphasize death and its inevitability as a primary theme. While the real victor over the plague turned out to be time, this perspective on conflict serves as a testament to the long-suffering determination of humanity to survive and thrive.
The Black Death was an epidemic disease that was also known as the Bubonic Plague. It was one of the most tragic epidemics that has happened in the world. The Black Death hit England between the years of 1348-1350. This plague annihilated one third of its original population. Trading ships that came to England during this time were blamed for the spread of this disease. People believed that when trading ships left other countries that they would bring in infested rats that carried the disease. When the rats would come in contact with a person or bit a person is believed to be the reason on why the deadly virus spread so quickly. Also many thought that the plague was airborne; when they thought this was the cause of the spreading of the
The disastrous plague called the Black Death had monumental, long lasting effects that would ultimately change the fate of the entire continent of Europe. The mid-1300s in Europe were part of the Dark Ages. Human populations were near over-crowding, and the land was stretched to produce food. Mother Nature created a drastic solution. The world lifted a bleak shadow of death and chaos over the people of Europe in the form of plague. It originated from fleas, but rats carried the fleas with this plague across seaward trading routes from Asia. Humans were oblivious to the deadly fleas disguised in the familiar sight of the rats aboard their trading ships. The plague was an airborne disease, and it was transmittable to humans. Once one was infected, no escape option was available. The plague was characterized by black cysts on the skin, which influenced humans to later dub the plague “The Black Death”. Europe was previously suffering during the Dark Ages, but what were the Black Death’s effects on Europe? The staggering effects of the Black Death were outlined clearly in the fragility of religion, the floundering population and education, and oddly enough, a recovered and thriving economy.
First the Black Death also known as plague was an extremely contagious and deadly disease that virtually wiped out the entire nation of Europe. The Black Death originated in China and quickly spread to Europe. Due to traders and travelers this disease easily spread on. The people with the disease would give it to whoever was with them no matter who they are. The Black Death symptoms were very obvious. It started with a lump called a tumor under the armpit, but as time moved on so did the tumors. The tumors came all over your body in black and purple lumps and in about three days you would be dead.There was no medicine that could help you with this disease.
The Black Death was a disease that plagued Europe during the years 1348 to 1350. This disease was one of the most deadly in Europe and killed more than half of Europe’s population. This pandemic became widespread through human, flea, and rodent contact, and it killed many in a span of a couple of days. The Black Death was not well understood during the 1300’s. Because of Lack of knowledge of the disease, there was debate among observers about the origin and cause of the disease, and also how to cure it.
The Black Death has been regarded as one of the worst pandemic to affect humans. Although history has focused so much on the impact of the plague on Europe, evidence shows that it affected parts of Asia as well with its terrifying symptoms. This investigation seeks to find the answers to the question: “To what extend did the effects of the black plague differ in Europe versus Asia?” Finding the answer to this will confirm how much the impact of the epidemic on the world is concerned. Historical books show that Black Death ended up killing between a third and two-thirds of Europeans. Others show that the outbreak was a multi-regional pandemic that killed more than 75 million people in parts of Asia including China, India, and the East. This paper will analyze the difference in the social, economic, and political aftermath of the plague outbreak in Europe and Asia.
The Black Death is a deadly disease that arrived in Europe by sea October 1347. It was 12 Genoese trading ships that docked at the Sicilian port of a Messina after their long travels through the Black Sea. When the people who gathered at the dock was met with a horrific accident. Many people one the crew was dead and the people who were alive was very ill. They weren’t able to keep food down because of the pain they were enduring, also overcoming a fever. But the weird thing was that they were covered in mysterious black books that had blood and puss coming from them. By the time they ordered for the ships to be taking away from the docks it was already too late so over the next five years the Black Death would kill more than 20 million people in Europe and that’s almost ⅓ of Europe’s population. Indeed, even before the "Death ships" maneuvered into port at Messina, numerous Europeans had heard bits of gossip about an "Awesome Epidemic" that was cutting a lethal way over the exchange courses of the Close and Far East. (Ahead of schedule in the 1340s, the illness had struck China, India, Persia, Syria and Egypt.) Be that as it may, they were hardly prepared for the ghastly reality of the Dark Demise. "In men and ladies alike," the Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio expressed, "toward the start of the disease, certain swellings, either on the crotch or under the armpits… waxed to the bigness of a typical apple, others to the measure of an egg, some more and some less, and