The Black Contague: A Definition Of The Black Plague

The 14th century in Europe was described as an age of diversity. I believe the 14th century coined this term because of the foreign and domestic problems it had to endure and overcome. The largest reason why the 14th century coined this phrase was because of the black plague. Too many, the years of the black plague were the darkest days in Europe's history. At first, the plague only attacked mice and rats. But due to the insanitary conditions of the 14th century, the virus mutated and a strain of the virus began attacking humans. The black plague was deadly and the normal person had a 80% mortality rate. The disease spread quickly throughout Europe due to the international trading that was prevalent during the era. Over the next century, millions
would die and the population over Europe was decreased by twenty five percent due to the black plague. The second reason the 14th century coined the phrase the age of adversity was because of the widespread famine that engulfed Europe in the beginning of the century. In the beginning of the 14th century, Europe experienced a mild climate change. The climate became colder and wetter which decreased the level of food production. From the years 1302 to 1348, there had been twenty poor harvests. The worst famine during that time occurred between 1315 and 1322 which would be perceived as a reoccurrence of the seven lean years mentioned in the bible. Many years of famine had taken its toll on the peasants of Europe. They were forced to sell their homes for food and they became vagabonds. The worst case of this happened in France were the peasants revolted against the aristocracy which threw France into a civil war. This is how the 14th century coined the phrase an age of adversity.