The Plague: The Black Death

The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, was a rapid plague that swept over Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s resulting in the death of millions of people. This disease is believed to have started in the Eastern parts of Asia, and it eventually made its way over to Europe by way of trade routes. Fever and “dark despair” characterized this plague. The highly contagious sickness displayed many flu like symptoms, but the victim’s lymph nodes would quickly become infected resulting in a vast and rapid spread of the disease within one person’s body. Due to the lack of medical knowledge and physicians, there was little that people could do to save those dying all around them. Now that there is a better understanding of these types of sicknesses,
The doctors believed that the alignment of three planets caused infectious vapors to be released. On the other hand, the common people concluded that God was punishing them for committing sins in their lives. The idea that God was the source of this epidemic made sense, because religion was a vast part of the lives of Medieval citizens. Therefore, many people tried to stop sinning, confess their sins, pray, and follow more in the ways of God to save themselves from the sickness. One radical group, the Flagellants, would publicly whip themselves to receive redemption, but their growing popularity amongst the towns people was highly disapproved by the Catholic Church officials. We now attribute the Black Death to the spread of a bubonic plague by fleas, rats, and
First, these Europeans became regularized to death, because they were around it so often. Due to the loss of millions of people, the European society had to make a few changes to compensate. Many people could move on quickly and kept their faith in God, but there were some people who questioned the Church’s authority. This time of questioning caused some nobles to take their faith into their own hands by holding private church services for their family. Others lost their faith, and they looked for answers in science. Strangely, the loss of so many people enhanced the living situation of those who survived. For instance, the wages rose, because there were less workers. Also, previous peasants could now own land now that the previous owners perished. Likewise, there was less famine due to a decrease in mouths that needed to be fed. The lack of people and labor led to the creation of labor saving devices, such as the printing press. For the nobles, the lack of labor was unfavorable, and the shortfall of workers forced the upper class to learn how to plant and harvest their own land. Although, some nobles used their power to forcibly coerce the previous peasants to return to work their land. Despite losing millions of people, this plague might have been a blessing in disguise for the previous peasants who survived the