The Black Death
The Black Death was undoubtedly one of the most devastating diseases
that occurred during the middle ages. The Black Death, also known as
the Bubonic Plague, was a world-wide epidemic that caused the death of
more than 20 million people throughout Europe (Velenzdas). The people
of this time period were clueless as to the cause of the plague, but
were well aware of the tell-tale symptoms that accompanied infection.
There were many "cures" for the outbreaks, however it is known that
only a small percentage proved successful. Although the Black Death is
deemed by many to be the most devastating pandemic in history, some
consider it to have ultimately led to the Renaissance by starting a
revolution in the arts and sciences (Cantor 22-23).
The Bubonic Plague is caused by the Yersina Pestis bacterium, which
commonly infected the rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, which also served
as its host (Velenzdas). Medieval Europe was a time of widespread
uncleanliness. Garbage was dumped onto the streets, water sources were
often polluted, all of which contributed to an overall unhealthy
environment. In the countryside, farmers often lived in dwellings that
also housed their livestock. Because of this, fleas were found nearly
everywhere in medieval Europe, infecting those they came into contact
with. The arrival of the Black Death completely shocked the entire
population of Europe. They attributed its cause to God's Will, because
of a simple lack of understanding of the role of fleas and hygiene in
the spread of the disease.
There were three stages of the Black Death. The first stage included
symptoms which were often flu-like in ...
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...es. The Plague
killed off entire family lines, and resulted in the loss of many great
and important people. However, the end of the Black Death signaled a
new beginning that seemingly may have paved the way towards an
"intellectual revolution" (Cantor 25). Despite many evident details
that the Black Death was beneficial to man kind, it is still
undeniably one of the deadliest and most destructive epidemics in
history.
Works Cited
Bishop, Rebecca. "The History of the Bubonic Plague." 2 Dec. 2003. 12
December 2004.
.
Cantor, Norman. "In The Wake of the Plague." New York: The Free Press,
2001.
Velenzdas, Demetres. "CBRNE-Plague." E-Medicine. 15 Jan. 2003. 12
December 2004.
.
The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, or the Bubonic Plague killed one third of the population of Europe during its reign in the 13th and 14th centuries. The arrival of this plague set the scene for years of strife and heroism. Leaving the social and
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The Web. The Web. 24 Mar. 2011. The. http://liboc.tctc.edu:2058/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CH1420001374&v=2.1&u=tricotec_main&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w> The "Plague".
The Black Death had profound effects on Medieval Europe. Although most people did not realize it at the time, the Black Death had not only marked the end of one age but it also denoted the beginning of a new one, namely the Renaissance.
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The Black Plague was brought upon Europe through the fleas that were on the bodies of rats. As soon as an infected flea bites a single human, anywhere in the world, they are infected with the deadly virus that the fleas carry. The rats with fleas would climb up into the trade boats and get off at another place spreading the disease to many places in the Middle Ages. But the rats were also affected by the fleas’ virus, the rats could survive with a few bacteria in them but eventually, they will die after a few days of also being infected like the humans. The Black Plague was out of three plagues but it was mostly of the bubonic plague which are the least toxic out of the other plague but it is still highly lethal, killing 50% to 60% of its victims, the pneumonic plague which affects the lungs, and the septicaemic plague which affects the blood. The Black plague is one of the most known plagues in history not only for killing millions of people on earth but also because of it spreading rapidly throughout the
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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.
Imagine living in a time filled with nothing but fear. The thing you fear cannot be touched or seen but will put you to a slow miserable death. In the 1300s people were struck with a great plague, which has now been named “The Black Death”. The Black Death killed off populations with just one sweep. Historians call this the biggest tragedy of all time. The question is what caused this plague and how does something like this happen? Overtime historians have boiled it down to 2 and some may say 3 explanations, which are religion, science, and humans. With the help of a book The Black Death by Rosemary Horrox I was able to find explanations of them all. Who may know which is the correct reason for such a thing but what your think caused it is for you to decide.
The Black Plague, perhaps one of the worst epidemics in history, swept its evil across Europe in the middle of the 14th century, killing an estimated 20 million people. This major population shift, along with other disasters occurring at the time, such as famine and an already existing economic recession, plunged Europe into a dark period of complete turmoil. Anarchy, psychological breakdowns, and the dissipation of church power were some of the results. As time passed, however, society managed to find new ground and began its long path of recovery. The plague, as catastrophic as it was to medieval Europe, had just as many positive effects that came with this recovery as it did negative effects prior. An end to feudalism, increased wages and innovation, the idea of separation of church and state, and an attention to hygiene and medicine are only some of the positive things that came after the plague. It could also be argued that the plague had a significant impact on the start of the Renaissance.