Black Death Response
McKenzie Kucera
MBI 111 Video: The Plague
• What did you think about the reactions and responses of the European people to the bubonic plague epidemic of the 1340s? Did you find these reactions and responses surprising?
The Black Death was originally brought to Italy in the year of 1347 by sailors returning from their journey to the Black Sea. Rats and flees were major instruments in spreading the plague. Quickly, there was an astounding decline in the population. Roughly 20-30% of Italy’s citizens were killed and most likely left 20-30% of the remaining population infected. Obviously, this left Italy and the rest of Europe scared and confused. They began treating people with this disease like strangers, even if they were their very own family members. …show more content…
No one would dare come visit even their dearest of friends; it was too much of a risk. It stunned me that even priests and doctors turned their backs on those who found themselves ill. Doctors fled and help seemed slim to none for those dying. After all, it was their job to provide healing. Many persons of authority began to die, leaving no one in charge. This of course only added to the chaos. Even the church began to fall apart. This is when the flagellants formed. Their belief was that whipping their own bodies would make God take mercy on them. This way of thinking was founded on the thought that God was punishing the people through the use of the Black Death. I was also taken aback that this was another point in history where Jews were blamed, though they were also coming down with the
MBI 111 Video: The Plague
• What did you think about the reactions and responses of the European people to the bubonic plague epidemic of the 1340s? Did you find these reactions and responses surprising?
The Black Death was originally brought to Italy in the year of 1347 by sailors returning from their journey to the Black Sea. Rats and flees were major instruments in spreading the plague. Quickly, there was an astounding decline in the population. Roughly 20-30% of Italy’s citizens were killed and most likely left 20-30% of the remaining population infected. Obviously, this left Italy and the rest of Europe scared and confused. They began treating people with this disease like strangers, even if they were their very own family members. …show more content…
No one would dare come visit even their dearest of friends; it was too much of a risk. It stunned me that even priests and doctors turned their backs on those who found themselves ill. Doctors fled and help seemed slim to none for those dying. After all, it was their job to provide healing. Many persons of authority began to die, leaving no one in charge. This of course only added to the chaos. Even the church began to fall apart. This is when the flagellants formed. Their belief was that whipping their own bodies would make God take mercy on them. This way of thinking was founded on the thought that God was punishing the people through the use of the Black Death. I was also taken aback that this was another point in history where Jews were blamed, though they were also coming down with the