The Plague - The Black Death

The Black Death

"The Black Death" is known as the worst natural disaster in European history. The plague spread throughout Europe from 1346-1352. Those who survived lived in constant fear of the plague's return and it did not disappear until the 1600s. Not only were the effects devastating at the time of infection, but during the aftermath as well. "The Black Death" of the fourteenth century dramatically altered Europe's social and economic structure.

The plague was spread by fleas, which were not effected by the disease. Fleas first infected the rats, which lived off garbage and sewage. The rats then spread the infection to the humans. Rats were a common sight in the cities, due to the poor sanitary conditions, so no one suspected them (www.tartans.com). In the winter the plague seemed to disappear, but only because fleas were dormant then. Each spring, the plague attacked again, killing new victims (www.byu.edu). The effects of the plague were devastating. After just five years, twenty-five million people were dead - one third of Europe's population. Once people were infected they infected others very rapidly. As a result, in order to avoid the disease, many fled to the countryside where the lower population density helped to decrease the speed at which the disease spread (www.tartans.com). From a person's time of infection to his or her death was less than one week (www.home.nycap.rr.com). The plague became known as "The Black Death" because of the discoloration of the skin and black enlarged lymph nodes that appeared on the second day of contracting the disease. The term "The Black Death" was not invented until after 1800. Contemporaries called it "the pestilence" (Cantor 7).

One third of a reg...

... middle of paper ...

...ttp://www.byu.edu. 21 August 2002.

"Bubonic Plague." http://home.nycap.rr.com/useless/bubonic_plague/. 21 August 2002.

Cantor, Norman F. In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made. New York:

The Free Press, 2001.

Gottfried, Robert S. The Black Death: Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe. New York:

The Free Press, 1983.

Herlihy, David. The Black Death and the Transformation of the West. Massachusetts: Harvard

University Press, 1997.

"IATH: The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities."

http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu. 21 August 2002.

Platt, Colin. The National Trust Guide to Late Medieval and Renaissance Britain. London: George

Philip, 1986.

"The Plague." http://www.tartans.com/articles/plague.html. 21 August 2002.

Zieglar, Philip. The Black Death. New York: Harper & Row, 1969.