Steve Jobs once said, “Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new”. In the fourteenth Century, one the most devastating epidemics to ever be witnessed hit Europe and claimed over fifty million lives. Death became a normal part of life, and it overtook cities, homes and families. However, the plague did more to Europe than kill off almost one-third of its population, it brought grand-scale changes necessary to advance life and bring Europe out of the Dark Ages. The plague was the first time in recorded history that an epidemic was vast enough to have a lasting impact in European society on church authority, the use and invention of technology, and social balance. The Plague changed the way European citizens saw the Church and Church power. When people were suffering and wanted to receive Anointing of the Sick, some priest refused to go near the infected. This led to a questioning of the Church and papal power decreased. People no longer went to grand cathedrals for mass, but rather created their own ...
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Show MoreThe years 1348 through 1350 had been an extremely gruesome and miserable time in our world’s history. During this time period, one of the most devastating pandemics in history had struck half the world with an intensifying and deadly blow. It had been responsible for over 75 million deaths and 20 million of these deaths were from Europe alone. Out of the countries that were hit hardest in Europe from mortality rates and economic downturns, England was one of them. This grave disease that marked the end of the middle ages and the start of the modern age is known as the Black Plague.
Some things are not as they seem. “Ring Around the Rosie” seems like a pleasant children’s nursery rhyme, but many believe it is actually a grisly song about the Black Death in Europe. The Black Death was a serial outbreak of the plague during the 1300s. During the Black Death, more than 20 million Europeans died. One-third of the population of the British Isles died from the plague. Moreover, one-third of the population of France died in the first year alone, and 50% of the people in France’s major cities died. Catastrophic death rates like these were common across all of Europe. However, just like the poem “Ring Around the Rosie”, the true effects of the Black Death differed from what many people believed. Though tragic, the Black Death caused several positive societal changes. Specifically, the Black Death helped society by contributing to the economic empowerment of peasants and disempowerment of nobility that led to the decline of manorialism, as well as by encouraging the development of new medical and scientific techniques by proving old methods and beliefs false.
The Black Death is the name later given to the epidemic of plague that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351. The disaster affected all aspects of life. Depopulation and shortage of labor hastened changes already inherent in the rural economy; the substitution of wages for labor services was accelerated, and social stratification became less rigid. Psychological morbidity affected the arts; in religion, the lack of educated personnel among the clergy gravely reduced the intellectual vigor of the church.
The plague was a source of great anxiety for Christians beginning in the fourteenth century, and, though it had abated by the time of the Reformations, it was still a danger. The high mortality rate of the plague caused the church to react to it in such a way as to serve the dead more than the living (Lindberg 29). The church moved from emphasizing works of mercy to emphasizing m...
The Black Death: Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe written by Robert Steven Gottfried is a narrative style book that goes over the environmental and human effects the Black Death had in 12th Century Europe. Gottfried’s thesis is that the Black Death is the greatest biological and environmental event in European history. When the Black Death came to pass, the amount of mortality surrounding the European people pushed them to think harder, and to think deeper about the sanctity of life, and that new mindset triggered some of the major changes in Europe that followed after that, which would eventually lead Europe out of the Medieval Age. Gottfried successfully conveys the historical significance of the Black Death the way he uses the
In the 1300’s, there was an outbreak of a disease known as the Black Death that engulfed all of Europe. This sickness, also know as the Bubonic Plague, rampaged throughout Europe killing over a third of the population. A bacteria known as Yersinia pestis caused the disease. The bacteria, originating in fleas, spread to rats and then to people. Black Death was spread from trade throughout Europe. The large cities were affected first, and then it spread to the less dense and populated surrounding areas. The mortality rate in large cities was near fifty percent of the population, while in more rural areas the rate was lower. This lasting effects of this disease changed Europe both socially and economically. The bubonic plague triggered a loss of faith and generated negative feelings towards the church, but positively affected the masses by creating opportunities that they didn’t have in the past.
No other epidemic reaches the level of the Black Death which took place from 1348 to 1350. The epidemic, better regarded as a pandemic, shook Europe, Asia, and North Africa; therefore it deems as the one of the most devastating events in world history. In The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350, John Aberth, compiles primary sources in order to examine the origins and outcomes of this deadly disease. The author, a history professor and associate academic dean at Vermont’s Castleton State College, specializes in medieval history and the Black Death. He wrote the book in order to provide multiple perspectives of the plague’s impact. Primarily, pathogens started the whole phenomenon; however, geological, economic, and social conditions
Lastly, the change in spirituality was one of the major effects of the plague. The Black Death left survivors mourning, depressed, and fearful of its return.
The population of Europe itself was reborn during the Renaissance. I was surprised to learn that the population of Europe declined approximately 25 to 50 % during the time of the black plague in the 1300's. Apparently it wasn't until around 1500 that the population started to grow and recover to its previous size. The European economy also looks to have been reborn during the Renaissance, which was desperately needed after the economic upheaval of the fourteenth century. Trade recovered and expanded, along with old and new
The Bubonic Plague, or more commonly known as ‘The Black Death’ or ‘The Black Plague,’ was one of the most devastating and deadliest pandemics that humans have ever witnessed in the history of mankind. The disease spanned two continents in just a few years, marking every country between Western Europe all the way to China. During the reign of the plague, which is estimated to be the years between 1347-1352, it is estimated that “20 million people in Europe–almost one-third of the continent’s population” was killed off due to the plague. The Black Plague would change the course of European history since the plague knew no boundaries and inflicted its wrath upon the rich and the poor alike. As a result, not only did the plague have a devastating demographic impact which encountered a massive social disruption, but also, an economic and religious impact as well.
When the black death mysteriously and suddenly hit Europe, it spread at an unbelievable speed leaving almost no city untouched. The citizens of fourteenth century Europe were unsure of how to cope with half the population being wiped out in such a short time span. What had caused this “great mortality”? Who was really to blame for their suffering? How were they to overcome it? While being overwhelmed with sickness and a number of dilemmas stemming from it, many societies became weak and eventually fell apart.
In 1346, the second and most devastating case of Bubonic plague erupted. (Janis 1) This specific case of plague originated in Kaffa, a cathedral town on the Crimean Coast and spread to China then quickly westward to India. Soon traders from India sailed to Europe and infected almost the entire continent. (Ziegler 121) This case was the most famous because of the large number of deaths affiliated with its outbreak. An estimated twenty five million people, one third of Europe’s population, perished during the plague’s four years of existence. (Janis 1) Government, trade, and commerce in Europe almost came to a halt. The Black Death caused the depopulation of about 1,000 villages in England. (Janis 2) In one case, in Alexandria, Egypt, the first two weeks of the plague 100-200 people died each day. Soon after, as many as 2,000 people died each day and the number increased each week. During this time, the Roman Catholic Church lost some influence on its people.
...ant events in the entirety of the history of Europe. The confusion and devastating effects of the plague on the people in Europe was the cause of a mass questioning of the effectiveness of religious authority leaders and ineffective attempts made by political authority leaders to inhibit the social growth of the lower class, a dramatic shift in the division of wealth in European society, and increased persecution and discrimination of Jews and other outlying groups in society. The Black Death was a very unexpected outbreak of disease in medieval Europe. Our modern society is still plagued by outbreaks of diseases, such as HIV and AIDS, Swine Flu [H1N1] and Bird Flu, [H7N9] so we must take in consideration the devastating mass effect this epidemic had on the people of the 14th century and be prepared should an epidemic similar in scale and proportion happen again.
The Black Death plagues had disastrous consequences for Europe in the 14th century. After the initial outbreak in Europe, 1347, it continued for around five years and then mysteriously disappeared. However it broke out again in the 1360s and every few decades thereafter till around 1700. The European epidemic was an outbreak of the bubonic plague, which began in Asia and spread across trade routes. When it reached Europe, a path of destruction began to emerge. Medieval society was tossed into disarray, economies were fractured, the face of culture and religion changed forever. However the plagues devastation was not all chaotic, there were benefits too, such as modern labour movements, improvements in medicine and a new outlook on life. Therefore in order to analyse the impact the Black Death had on societies in the 14th century, this essay will consider the social, economic, cultural and religious factors in order to reach an overall conclusion.
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.