The Black Plague

The Black Plague

The Black Plague was one of the worst and deadliest

diseases known to man in the history of the world. The Plague

originated in Italy and quickly spread throughout Europe killing

more than one hundred thirty seven million people. Early

treatments for the Plague were often bizarre but eventually came

in a vaccine and through isolation. The symptoms of the Black

Plague were swellings called buboes and dried blood under the

skin that appeared black. The Black Plague changed the world in

several different ways. It resulted in medical advances and

architectural setbacks.

In the 1300's one of the most fearful and deadliest

diseases known to humans erupted somewhere in Central Asia; the

Black Plague. It came to England in 1348 and for over three

centuries the Black Plague remained a continual fear in the

everyday life of citizens in Europe. The Plague struck first

along the northern edge of the Black Sea in 1348, where it

killed and estimated eighty eight thousand people in less than

three months. The Plague reached southern England in the late

summer of 1348 and swept northward through the following year.

The Black Plague completed it's journey and died out by the end

of 1351. Although the people of Medieval Europe did not know

the direct cause of the Plague, they believed without

doubt that God was responsible, judging human behavior and ready

to punish the wicked. They concluded that this Black Plague was

punishment from an angry God (Corzine 27-31).

The Black Plague had several different names. Bubonic

Plague received its name because of the painful swellings it

produced called buboes. The Black Death is another name which

was given to the Plague because ...

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...re there was no-one to maintain the city

buildings (Platt 170-171).

Many of Europe's most important scholars and thinkers, as

well as doctors died during the plague. Medieval medicine

failed in the face of the Black Plague. This massive failure

marked the beginning of the professionalization of medicine, one

of the most far reaching consequences of the Black Plague (Platt

177).

Bibliography:

Work Cited

Bunson, Matthew. Middle Ages. New York: Facts on File Inc., 1995.

Cozine, Phyllis. The Black Death. San Diego: Lucent Books, Inc.,

1997.

Gregg, Charles T. Plague. New York. Charles Scribner & Sons,

1978.

Nardon, Don. Life on A Medieval Pilgrimage. San Diego. Lucent

Books Inc., 1997.

Platt, Colin. King Death. Buffalo. University of Toronto Press,

1996

Zeigler, Phillip. The Black Death. New York. Harper & Row