The black death: a medevial epidemic
Causes/Symptoms
The black death, also known as the bubonic plage, was an fatal epidemic that ravanged Europe, the Near East, and North Africa from 1347-1352. The effects of the plague caused mass deaths, confusion in societes, and the distruction of an entire generation. Symptoms of the black plage include: fatigue, headache, loss of balance, and massive swelling of the lymph nodes, groin, and armpits. Also, the victim's would suffer an increase in heartbeat due the heart trying to pump blood through swollen tissue. Then, the nervous system would collapse causing severe pain and jerking movements of the arms and legs. As death loomed, the mouth of the victem would gape open and skin began to turn black due to internal bleeding, hense the name, "the black death". Finally, the victim would usually die within five days of contracting the disease.
People in the medeival times blamed the outbreak in illness on a number of things, such as God, the planets, bad air, amd specifically the Jews for contaminating the air and their wells. However, reaserches later linked the germ that caused the bubonic plague to a rat and flee germ. The medevial society lived rather primitavly compared to other societies, and were commonly exposed to animas, especially rats. Also, communties in medevial times were not particularly clean and healthy enviorments. Because people at the time were not aware that rats and fleas were spreading the plague, there was basically no effective treatment or prevention for the epidemic. Doctors were extreamly ill prepared and overwhelmed with the amount of people sick and dying, and also the number of doctors decreased as the plague raged on, taking more lives each day. This led to many people to try home remedies to treat tand heal the sick, although they proved to be useless after victims would die after five days and spread the bubonic germ to those around them.
The black death, also known as the bubonic plage, was an fatal epidemic that ravanged Europe, the Near East, and North Africa from 1347-1352. The effects of the plague caused mass deaths, confusion in societes, and the distruction of an entire generation. Symptoms of the black plage include: fatigue, headache, loss of balance, and massive swelling of the lymph nodes, groin, and armpits. Also, the victim's would suffer an increase in heartbeat due the heart trying to pump blood through swollen tissue. Then, the nervous system would collapse causing severe pain and jerking movements of the arms and legs. As death loomed, the mouth of the victem would gape open and skin began to turn black due to internal bleeding, hense the name, "the black death". Finally, the victim would usually die within five days of contracting the disease.
People in the medeival times blamed the outbreak in illness on a number of things, such as God, the planets, bad air, amd specifically the Jews for contaminating the air and their wells. However, reaserches later linked the germ that caused the bubonic plague to a rat and flee germ. The medevial society lived rather primitavly compared to other societies, and were commonly exposed to animas, especially rats. Also, communties in medevial times were not particularly clean and healthy enviorments. Because people at the time were not aware that rats and fleas were spreading the plague, there was basically no effective treatment or prevention for the epidemic. Doctors were extreamly ill prepared and overwhelmed with the amount of people sick and dying, and also the number of doctors decreased as the plague raged on, taking more lives each day. This led to many people to try home remedies to treat tand heal the sick, although they proved to be useless after victims would die after five days and spread the bubonic germ to those around them.
an eyewitness account
"All this year and the next, the mortality of men and women if the young even more than the old, in Paris and in the kingdom of France, and also it is said, in other parts of the world, was so great that it was almost impossible to burry the dead. People lay ill little more than two or three days and died suddenly, as it were in full health. He who was well one day was dead the next being carried to his grave. Swellings appeared suddenly in the armpits or in the groin- in many cases both- and they were infallible signs of death. This sickness or pestilence was called an epidemic by doctors. In many places not two out of twenty remained alive."
This primary source account tells of the epidemc that swept across Medevial Europeian societies as its people watched in horror as their friends and family died before their very eyes, and as their own death loomed because of the massive epidemic known as the black plague. The text states that more young people than elderly people died from the plague, meaning there was a hole in society for those deceased who would have become knights, workers, and loving husbands and wives. This caused societies and their people to suffer because there were less people to employ and carry out important jobs the community needed to function properly. Also, citizens suffered greatly from an emotional standpoint as their loved ones would be heathy one day and dead from the plague the next. This resulted in the sense of fear woven into societies as those who were healthy prayed they would not be yet another victim of the plague.
This primary source account tells of the epidemc that swept across Medevial Europeian societies as its people watched in horror as their friends and family died before their very eyes, and as their own death loomed because of the massive epidemic known as the black plague. The text states that more young people than elderly people died from the plague, meaning there was a hole in society for those deceased who would have become knights, workers, and loving husbands and wives. This caused societies and their people to suffer because there were less people to employ and carry out important jobs the community needed to function properly. Also, citizens suffered greatly from an emotional standpoint as their loved ones would be heathy one day and dead from the plague the next. This resulted in the sense of fear woven into societies as those who were healthy prayed they would not be yet another victim of the plague.
Effects of the black death on church and education
"The mortality swept away so vast a multitude of both sexes that none could be found to carry the corpses to the grave. Men and women bore their own offspring on their shoulders to the church and cast them into a common pit. From these came such a stench that hardly anyone dared to cross the cemitaries. (England, William of Dene in Rodchester Chronicle, 1349)
The effects of the black plague were evident across medevial society, however, they were most apparent in the church and education. Due to the rising death toll among people members of the clergy were in high demands for religous sacrements and ceremonies, although clergical death rates were the same as the rest of society. For example, 40-50% of members of the clergy died during the epidemic. This was problematic in society because many wanted proper last rites for their deceased loved ones as the death toll rose. Furthermore, the chruch was forced to lower their standards and requirements for new members of the clergy and sped up training of clergy members and teachers as more people died each day from the plague. This resulted in the lack of teacher's and preperation caused academic standards to decline. Death surrounded everything in society and the threat of illness loomed around every corner, which clearly shows that the medevial period was truely a time of harships for everyone.
The effects of the black plague were evident across medevial society, however, they were most apparent in the church and education. Due to the rising death toll among people members of the clergy were in high demands for religous sacrements and ceremonies, although clergical death rates were the same as the rest of society. For example, 40-50% of members of the clergy died during the epidemic. This was problematic in society because many wanted proper last rites for their deceased loved ones as the death toll rose. Furthermore, the chruch was forced to lower their standards and requirements for new members of the clergy and sped up training of clergy members and teachers as more people died each day from the plague. This resulted in the lack of teacher's and preperation caused academic standards to decline. Death surrounded everything in society and the threat of illness loomed around every corner, which clearly shows that the medevial period was truely a time of harships for everyone.
an account of famine
"There was a family in Beauvais in the year 1693 named Cocu: Jean Cocu, weaver of serges, and his wife with three daughters, all four spinning wool for him, since the youngest daughter was already nine years old.The family earned 108 sols a week, but they ate 70 pounds of bread between them. With bread up to .5 sol a pound, their livelihood was secure. With bread at one sol a pound it began to get difficult. With bread at 2 sols, then 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4- as it was in 1649, in 1652, in 1662, and 1694, in 1710- it was misery. They went without; they pawned their things, they began to eat unwholesome food, bran bread, cooked nettles, moldy cereals, entrails of animals picked up outside the slaughter houses...The family was registered at the Office of the Poor in December 1693. in March 1694, the youngest daughter died; in May the eldest daughter and the father. All that remained was a widow and an orphan. Because of the price of bread."
As one can clearly see, famine effected many and caused families to struggle to support one another, which led to many dead and even more straving. In the primary source document above, the Cocu family goes from being an everyday middle class family of five in the medevial society to becomeing completely poor and only two members surviving, all in the matter of a year. As the price of bread increased, the Cocu family sturggled more and more which eventually led to drastic measures of eating anything they could find that was even remotely edible. This led to illness and hunger which unfortunate led to the death of many, including two of the Cocu daughters and Jean Cocu himself, the main financial supporter of the family. Famlies in this time period who would loose a member due to famine were greatly burdened because in most families, each person worked and provided some amount of money to the family to contribute to feeding everyone. So, when a member of a family died, the remaining members were forced to work even harder to earn whatever money they could to keep the rest of their family alive. This shows that famine came swiftly into communities through the increase in the price or tax on food and resulted in starvation, death, and the everyday struggle to stay alive.
As one can clearly see, famine effected many and caused families to struggle to support one another, which led to many dead and even more straving. In the primary source document above, the Cocu family goes from being an everyday middle class family of five in the medevial society to becomeing completely poor and only two members surviving, all in the matter of a year. As the price of bread increased, the Cocu family sturggled more and more which eventually led to drastic measures of eating anything they could find that was even remotely edible. This led to illness and hunger which unfortunate led to the death of many, including two of the Cocu daughters and Jean Cocu himself, the main financial supporter of the family. Famlies in this time period who would loose a member due to famine were greatly burdened because in most families, each person worked and provided some amount of money to the family to contribute to feeding everyone. So, when a member of a family died, the remaining members were forced to work even harder to earn whatever money they could to keep the rest of their family alive. This shows that famine came swiftly into communities through the increase in the price or tax on food and resulted in starvation, death, and the everyday struggle to stay alive.