Little was known about the clergy during the Black Death. For a long time people believed that the Catholic Church had fled from its duty to serve the people, but that could not be further from the truth. In recent discovery it was found that greater than 50 percent of clergy were killed during the Black Death. This was not because the clergy were running away; rather, the clergy stayed and helped the people in villages, knowing the likelihood they would survive would be slim throughout this epidemic. It is my goal in this paper to describe what was occurring during the Black Death and how the Catholic Church and its clergy reacted to the epidemic. The Black Death could most likely be considered the most severe epidemic in human history. The Black Death arrived in Europe in 1347 and was ravaging from 1347-1351. This plague killed entire families at a time and destroyed at least 1,000 villages. Greatly contributing to the Crisis of the Fourteenth Century, the Black Death had many effects beyond its immediate symptoms. Not only did the Black Death have a devastating toll on human life, but it also played a key role in shaping the Catholic Church’s life in the following years. The Black Death consisted mainly of one disease, the bubonic plague, but pneumonic plague was also present during the epidemic. The pneumonic plague was even more fatal, but it was not as predominant as the bubonic plague. Symptoms of the bubonic plague included high fever, aching limbs, and blood vomiting. Most characteristic of the disease were swollen lymph nodes, which grew until they finally burst. Death was almost guaranteed to follow soon after. The name "Black Death" not only referred to the sinister nature of the disease, but also to the bla... ... middle of paper ... ...w priests after the epidemic were often less educated and more inexperienced than their predecessors. Not all members of the church stayed truthful to their beliefs but those who did sure made an impact. The Catholic Church did many things to try to help people during the Black Death, but probably the most beneficial thing they gave to those suffering was their presence. No one wanted to be around the plague but those member of the church that reacted to the epidemic by helping their neighbors shows truly what that Catholic Church was really like in the 14th century. Works Cited Swenson, Robert. “Plagues, History, and AIDS.” American Scholar 57.2 (1988): 183-200. Academic Journal. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. Slack, Paul. “Responses to Plague in Early Modern Europe: The Implications of Public Health.” Social Research 55.3 (1988):433-453. Academic Journal. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
The 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.
The population decline as a result of the Plague was like nothing the world had ever experienced before. It really demonstrated the importance of valid medical knowledge in treating diseases. However, I think the content of Document 3 may not be accurate because the author, Giovanni Sercambi, was born in 1348, the same year that the Plague reached his birthplace of Florence. For this reason, I feel like his depiction of the Black Death may not be true to the actual beliefs of people at the time. The only way he could have known about the Plague would be through word of mouth and other stories from the time, which isn’t the same as experiencing it firsthand. In addition, Document 4 may contain inaccurate information as well. For one thing, it was written 22 years after the Black Death occurred, which is enough time for many of the details to be forgotten or confused. Also, it was adapted, edited, and translated several times, creating a disparity between it and the original document. An additional source would be useful in order to provide a more well-rounded and wider perspective. An additional document would help by allowing for additional cross-examination of texts to look for reliability, thus eliminating inaccurate
In 1300, multiple out breaks of the Black Plague arised. For example, in the thirteenth century an outbreak in China killed one third of the population. Several dates before this time showed the disease was present years ago in Europe. Dying from the Plague was scary to most people and Jordan Mcmullin, an author stresses, “Whenever the Plague appeared the sadness of death was terrifying” (Mcmullin n.pag.). Death has always been frightening, but when a country plagues with disease, death becomes a terrible fear, the Plague scared the people of 541, and 542, when their outbreak of the Plague spread. Therefore, while other outbreaks of the Black Plague took place, the fourteenth century outbreak in Europe was certainly the worst.
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 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.
However, the Christians claimed that the Jews were less affected by the black death. The fact that the Jews were less effected by the black death is not because the plague was their fault but it was due to the sanitary practices of the Jewish law. For example, the Jewish law requires one to wash his or hands several times throughout the day. They must wash before they eat, after they leave the bathroom and at least once a week the Jews bathe for Sabbath. In the medieval world one can go about half his lifetime without ever having to wash his hands. This shows how the sanitary conditions for the Jews were always far superior than the general sanitary conditions everyone else followed which explains why the Jews were less effected by the plague. Although all this makes sense to the Christians the fact that the Jews were less affected was very shocking and therefore they blamed
Plagues and Peoples. By William H. McNeill. (New York: Anchor Books: A division of Random House, Inc., 1976 and Preface 1998. Pp. 7 + 365. Acknowledgements, preface, map, appendix, notes, index.)
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
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".
black death. The black death was one of the worst plagues ever recorded in the history of plagues. The
Although Martin Luther was not the first to voice dissent towards the Catholic Church and the papacy, the changing socio-economic statuses and political structures permeating throughout the Holy Roman Empire allowed his views to spread more quickly and become widely accepted. The renaissance brought about a period of individualistic thought and humanistic values, as well as a substantial increase in economic growth throughout each societal class. Combined with technological advances, Luther’s views appealed to the changing values of society. Furthermore, the bubonic plague, otherwise referred to as the “Black Death”, was responsible for the death of nearly half of the clergy in Europe, causing the church to prematurely promote inexperienced students to the role of priests. This inexperience coupled with simony and other forms of corruption gave the religious revolution legitimacy.
The Black Death was a dark period of human history, approximately 60% of European died. Black Death also known as the bubonic plague, it happened during 1346-1353. The plague spread during the crusades along the ships, and it was originated from a mice from Asia. It is a irremediable disease. The plague made so many negative influence on society, as well as positive effects on human population, such as social, medical and economical effects.
Kira L. S. Newman, “Shutt Up: Bubonic Plague and Quarantine in Early Modern England,” Journal of Social History, 3, (2012): 809-834
It cannot be argued that the Black Plague was detrimental to every aspect of Europe’s communities. It was a powerful epidemic that wiped out a third of the continent’s population. Out of the midst of all its terror, however, positive after effects presented themselves. Some of these effects included revolutions in the church and society, eventually leading to the separation of church and state. Feudalism was also challenged as peasants demanded wages and revolted. Along with social changes came technological innovations, new inventions, and an attention to hygiene and the beginning of modern medicine. The plague may have devastated Europe, but it also gave way to a new era.
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.