What Were The Causes Of The Black Death
The Black Death started in 1347 and raged on for some years, wiping most of Europe as it spread. Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) wrote of the plague’s symptoms: swellings or tumors in the armpits and groin, which led to blackness on different parts of the body. There’s no doubt that the Europeans had their own opinion on the cause of the plague and how to contain it.
The Black Death was a plague that very unfamiliar to the victims. As a result, they had different beliefs on the cause of the plague; however, they all shared one common belief: the disease was airborne. According to the “Ordinances Against the Spread of Plague, Pistoia, 1348,” “no citizen of Pistoia...shall dare or presume to go to Pisa or Lucca; and no one shall come to Pistoia from those places; penalty 500 pence.” Additionally, the “Plague Regulations of Bernabo, Visconti, Lord of Milan, 1347,” “each person who displays a swelling or tumor shall immediately leave...to the open country [and] those in attendance upon [the diseased] shall wait ten days before returning to human society.” These …show more content…
regulations suggest that the government officials believed that the plague was airborne, thus they tried to prevent interactions between cities and infected people, which is supported by the fee. In addition to the prevention of the plague, there was a need for repentance for the people to enter heaven.
Europe was a Christian continent-at that time period; as a result, many dying people resorted to confessing their sins to the priests to enter heaven; however, there was a shortage of priests.
According to Document 8, “priests cannot be found for love or money...we understand that many people are dying without the [confession] of penance, because they...believe that...an emergency confession of their sins is of no use...unless made to a priest…. [W]e order...you to make it known...to everybody...that if one the point of death [if a priest is not available] to any lay person, even woman if a man is not available.” This suggests that the church has taken it upon themselves to allow anyone to be a “temporary priest,” to hear the confessions of their dying neighbor. Additionally, this shows the degree of the plague, which was great, to even make the priests afraid and the church to resort to such drastic
measures. In conclusion, the Black Death was a severe epidemic that caused numerous deaths and the creation of strict ordinances. Although the plague and the protocols administered are seen in the contemporary world, with the exception of Madagascar, we can learn more about the culture and technologies at the turn of the fourteenth century through superficial and extensive study on the Black Death.
The Black Death was a plague that very unfamiliar to the victims. As a result, they had different beliefs on the cause of the plague; however, they all shared one common belief: the disease was airborne. According to the “Ordinances Against the Spread of Plague, Pistoia, 1348,” “no citizen of Pistoia...shall dare or presume to go to Pisa or Lucca; and no one shall come to Pistoia from those places; penalty 500 pence.” Additionally, the “Plague Regulations of Bernabo, Visconti, Lord of Milan, 1347,” “each person who displays a swelling or tumor shall immediately leave...to the open country [and] those in attendance upon [the diseased] shall wait ten days before returning to human society.” These …show more content…
regulations suggest that the government officials believed that the plague was airborne, thus they tried to prevent interactions between cities and infected people, which is supported by the fee. In addition to the prevention of the plague, there was a need for repentance for the people to enter heaven.
Europe was a Christian continent-at that time period; as a result, many dying people resorted to confessing their sins to the priests to enter heaven; however, there was a shortage of priests.
According to Document 8, “priests cannot be found for love or money...we understand that many people are dying without the [confession] of penance, because they...believe that...an emergency confession of their sins is of no use...unless made to a priest…. [W]e order...you to make it known...to everybody...that if one the point of death [if a priest is not available] to any lay person, even woman if a man is not available.” This suggests that the church has taken it upon themselves to allow anyone to be a “temporary priest,” to hear the confessions of their dying neighbor. Additionally, this shows the degree of the plague, which was great, to even make the priests afraid and the church to resort to such drastic
measures. In conclusion, the Black Death was a severe epidemic that caused numerous deaths and the creation of strict ordinances. Although the plague and the protocols administered are seen in the contemporary world, with the exception of Madagascar, we can learn more about the culture and technologies at the turn of the fourteenth century through superficial and extensive study on the Black Death.