The Bubonic Plague, or Black Death, was one of the most tragic pandemics in history. This disease is caused by the bacteria yersinia pestis which is found in rodents and fleas. Due to the medical advances that are available today, the bubonic plague is extremely rare. Other diseases that were spread throughout this time period consisted of Malaria, Small Pox, and Typhoid. There was a widespread of disease outbreaks due to the lack of sanitation, medicine, and as they believed, astrology. During the Elizabethan era, illnesses were caused due to the shortage of sanitation. As the population increased, hygiene and sanitation worsened. No one was aware of the real causes for disease. Knowledge of germs ceased to exist. Diseases were spread more …show more content…
Sewers were filled with garbage and open in the streets around the towns. Running water was not available. In order to receive water, there were water pumps, which only furthered the spread of disease (“Elizabethan Family Life” 1). Though there was no running water to clean food, the poor still used the available water to wash the fruits and vegetables. The wealthy believed that fruits and vegetables were not suitable for their lifestyle (“Elizabethan Family Life” 1). This caused the less fortunate families to occasionally have better health than the wealthy. Sneezing and other natural functions were said to be the best way to maintain good health. Doctors of the Elizabethan era were surgeons, physicians, barbers, and apothecaries. The doctor that was received was based on the social class of the patient. The wealthy were the only people who could afford to get help from a physician who had attended a University and the College of Physicians. The …show more content…
During the Elizabethan era, physicians believed that the zodiac signs and planets have control over parts of the body and different diseases. They also believed that it determined the usefulness of different drugs. Plants and herbs had to be collected at the time the related planets were visible. To determine when the planets would be visible, an almanac that stated the rising and setting times of the planets were used. The position of the moon in correlation to the natal chart allowed the physician to tell when the dangerous sickness days would take place. Blood would then be drawn from the patient to return the fluids in the body back to homeostasis (Delahaye 1). Certain planets were believed to affect different parts of the body. For example, Mercury and Uranus affected the brain and nerves. The sun affected the heart, Mars affected the arteries and Saturn affected the veins. The planets were also believed to be the cause of diseases. The sun caused heart and spine disorders, Jupiter caused liver disorders, and Mercury was the cause of insanity (Duchan
The Black Death (also called the "plague" or the "pestilence", the bacteria that causes it is Yersinia Pestis) was a devastating pandemic causing the death of over one-third of Europe's population in its major wave of 1348-1349. Yersinia Pestis had two major strains: the first, the Bubonic form, was carried by fleas on rodents and caused swelling of the lymph nodes, or "buboes", and lesions under the skin, with a fifty-percent mortality rate; the second, the pneumonic form, was airborne after the bacteria had mutated and caused fluids to build up in the lungs and other areas, causing suffocation and a seventy-percent mortality rate.
One of the largest epidemic events in history, the Bubonic Plague had a devastating effect on European society. It is believed to have begun in China, and it reached European soil in 1347, when it struck Constantinople (Document 1). It was carried by infected fleas that spread the disease between humans and rats. A symptom of the plague was the development of large, dark swellings called “buboes” on the victim’s lymph nodes. By the time the plague left, Europe’s population had been reduced by almost half. The devastation as a result of the plague may seem shocking, but there were several important factors that contributed to its deadliness.
The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague is perhaps the greatest and horrifying tragedies to have ever happened to humanity. The Plague was ferocious and had such a gruesome where people would die in such a morbid fashion that today we are obsessed with this subject.
The medication in the Elizabethan Era was very basic.When horrible diseases came such as the bubonic plague which is also known as the Black Death. They medication back then wasn’t strong enough to fight off the symptoms(Philip Stubbles). The Physicians in this era had no idea where the bubonic plague came from and they were very skeptical about finding a cure. The Physicians started to study patients that had the plague, studying there blood flow to see what caused this disease(Linda Alcin 1).Even though they study their patients they still couldn’t find what had caused this disease the best answer that they came up was to bleed there
“Medicine and Astrology.” Shorter Shakespeare: Twelfth Night. Carel Press. http://www.follower.edu/documents/WhatsYourSignBackground.pdf. 23 Apr. 2014 Morrell, Peter.
The filth of the cities promoted the spread of disease faster than doctors could discover a cure. This encouraged large outbreaks of many deadly diseases. And it is said that throughout this period there were people who went about the cities and towns with wagons calling "Bring out your dead!" in a fashion similar to that of the Medieval era during the bubonic plague (Which, by the way, was not yet a dead disease).
During the Elizabethan era, there were many different scientific beliefs and many different scientists. The Four Humours, which was involved with a type of science called cosmology, was a scientific belief at this time. The Four Humours details how the human body is made up and how it works. Scientists at this time were Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Vesalius, and Harvey. These scientists had many different discoveries, which change our world today.
Medicine in the Elizabethan Era was associated with many sciences. One of these includes Astrology. It was believed that all living creatures were associated with the stars. It was possible to read a persons past, present and future by the positions of the stars and planets. Therefore, if you were to go to a physician, one of the first things he would ask you wa...
It has been called “the greatest catastrophe ever.” That statement was made in reference to the Black Death which was one of many bubonic plague epidemics. Throughout history, the bubonic plague proved itself to be an extremely lethal disease. Outbreaks of the bubonic plague were devastating because of the stunning number of deaths in each of the populations it reached. The Black Death was the worst epidemic and disaster of the bubonic plague in all of history. The Black Death refers to a period of several years in which affected populations were decimated. The bubonic plague is a disease started by bacteria. The disease has horrible symptoms, and most of the victims die after getting the plague. The bubonic plague spread easily between different areas of people. The Black Death was not the first epidemic of the bubonic plague; there was another outbreak several hundred years before. It is important to understand the history of the bubonic plague and reflect upon the Black Death because plague outbreaks can still occur today.
Sweeping through Western Europe during the fourteenth century, the Bubonic Plague wiped out nearly one third of the population and did not regard: status, age or even gender. All of this occurred as a result of a single fleabite. Bubonic Plague also known as Black Death started in Asia and traveled to Europe by ships. The Plague was thought to be spread by the dominating empire during this time, the Mongolian Empire, along the Silk Road. The Bubonic Plague was an infectious disease spread by fleas living on rats, which can be easily, be attached to traveler to be later spread to a city or region. Many factors like depopulation, decreasing trade, and huge shifts in migrations occurred during the Bubonic Plague. During Bubonic Plague there were also many different beliefs and concerns, which include fear, exploitation, religious and supernatural superstition, and a change of response from the fifteenth to eighteen century.
When making a diagnosis, doctors might consult medical books, astrological charts and urine samples. Some doctors believed the disease was caused by bad smells or small worms, or the position of the planets or stars. They also charged very high fees, so only the rich could afford them. Although surgical operations were performed, they did not know about sanitisation and there were no anaesthetics. Most patients died from infection or shock.
Without any form of safe sex besides abstinence, gonorrhea and syphilis would be spread like wildfire causing painful urination and aching genitals. Ergotism is the poisoning from a fungal infection of grain and that would degenerate the nervous system and cause hallucinations and convulsions. It was more common in kids than in adults. Another disease that was common during the medieval era was diphtheria which is a highly contagious bacterial disease that causes major respiratory issues. Diseases were everywhere in the medieval era because of the awful living conditions and lack of cleanliness in the
It was a bubonic plague that came from Asia and spread by black rats infested with fleas. The plague spread like a wildfire because people who lived in high populated areas were living very close to each other and had no idea what was the cause of the disease or how to cure it. The signs of the “inevitable death” where blood from the nose, fever, aching and swellings big as an “apple” in the groin or under the armpits. From there the disease spread through the body in different directions and soon after it changed into black spots that appeared on the arms and thighs. Due to the lack of medical knowledge, no doctors manage to find a remedy. Furthermore a large number of people without any kind of medical experience tried to help the sick but most of them failed “...there was now a multitude both of men and of women who practiced without having received the slightest tincture of medical science - and, being in ignorance of its source, failed to apply the proper remedies…” (Boccaccio). The plague was so deadly that it was enough for a person to get infected by only touching the close of the
The Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as the Black Death, is a raging disease. Most people think of it as the physical Grim Reaper of their town or community. The disease lasted about six years, 1347 to 1352. The Bubonic Plague was a travesty that has traveled throughout Europe and has raged and decimated both large and small towns, putting Europe through a lot. The disease spreads through a bacteria called Yersinia Pestis.
“The queen was intense, intellectual and hard to please, a strong willed and outspoken woman who ruled in an era when women were silent, especially when it came to public matters such as religion or politics” (Yancey 17). “English women were considered the weaker and lesser intelligent sex, and their options in life were limited, but they were not overprotected or confined to the home” (Yancey 56). “There was no right to free speech or freedom of the press in Elizabethan England” (Benson 142-4). “the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) that is often considered to be the golden age in English history” (Benson 181). “The population rose significantly during her reign, to about 4.1 million” (Benson 183). Even though it was a height in civilization it had its downfalls. “England’s farming economy was forever changed by the outbreak of a terrible plaque, or infectious disease… killing more than one-fourth of the population in a few years” (Benson 182). “Smallpox, scarlet fever and tuberculosis were just a few of the diseases that regularly killed thousands of people” (Yancey 35). “Elizabethans rarely drank water because it was impure and could lead to sickness.” (Benson 188). “In Elizabethan England one’s ...