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Boccaccio on the Black Death: Text & Commentary

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The Black Death is the name given to the plague outbreak in Europe between 1347-1352 CE. The term was only coined after 1800 CE in reference to the black buboes (growths) which erupted in the groin, armpit, and around the ears of those infected as the plague struck the lymph nodes; people of the time referred to it as “the pestilence” among other terms. It came from the East where it raged between 1346-1360 CE and was a combination of bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic plague.

One of the primary sources on the outbreak was the Italian writer and poet Giovanni Boccaccio (l. 1313-1375 CE), best known for his work The Decameron (written 1349-1353 CE), which tells the story of ten people who entertain themselves with stories while in isolation from the plague. In the first chapter, before introducing the characters, he describes how the plague struck the city of Florence in 1348 CE, how people reacted, and the staggering death toll which would finally amount to between 30-50 million before it wore itself out. The outbreak would completely alter the European social structure as well as the belief systems of many of those who survived it.

Background to the Plague

The plague was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis which was carried by the fleas of rodents, primarily rats, who were transported between regions through trade or by troops returning from or heading toward deployment. This bacterium was not isolated and identified, however, until 1894 CE and so the people of the 14th century CE had no idea as to the cause of the plague or how to fight against it. The disease was therefore attributed to God 's wrath, primarily, although marginal communities – such as the Jews – were also singled out as the cause and persecuted accordingly. Most responses, however, were aimed at appeasing the anger of God and there were few practical efforts – at least at first – towards controlling the spread of the disease.

The plague entered Europe from the East via Genoese trading ships but is also thought to have possibly been spread along the Silk Road trade routes. The disease had been taking a significant toll in the East since at least 562 CE – thought to be a continuation of the Plague of Justinian (541-542 CE and afterwards) – quieted down in 749 CE, and flared up again in 1218 CE. Afterwards, it died down again until 1332 CE and broke out fully in 1346 CE before traveling to Europe.

The point-of-origin most scholars agree on are the Genoese ships from the port city of Caffa (also given as Kaffa) on the Black Sea (modern-day Feodosia in Crimea). The city had been under siege by the Mongol Golden Horde under the command of Khan Djanibek (r. 1342-1357 CE) whose troops were infected by the Plague of the Near East . When soldiers died, Djanibek ordered their corpses catapulted over the walls of Caffa, and this is thought to have infected the city's population. Merchant ships fleeing the city went first to Sicily , then Marseilles and Valencia, infecting them, and the plague then spread across Europe.

Boccaccio's Narrative

In 1348 CE, it struck Florence, Italy , Boccaccio's native city, killing his stepmother (his mother had died earlier, possibly of plague). His father worked in finance and trade and held the government position of Minister of Supply before dying, probably of plague, in 1349 CE, the same year Boccaccio would begin writing The Decameron . This work features ten young people – seven women and three men – who have fled Florence during the plague and taken shelter in a villa in the countryside. To entertain themselves, they tell the stories which make up the bulk of the book.

The introduction to The Decameron , which details the outbreak in the city, is given by the narrator of the work as background before the appearance of the ten main characters, all of whom meet at an empty church in the city in the midst of the plague before deciding to leave for the country. It is unclear whether Boccaccio was actually present in Florence when the plague was raging there, as his father may have sent him to Naples on business in 1348 CE, but he certainly could have been and so would serve as an eyewitness to the devastation of the city. The introduction, though part of a fictional work, is still considered an accurate description of life in Florence during the plague as it matches with other accounts.

Although Boccaccio claims that the first symptom of the disease is the appearance of buboes, most records of the plague indicate that it began with fever, then body aches and fatigue, and then the buboes breaking out on the body. It is possible Boccaccio made use of poetic license and reversed the order of symptoms to give the worst up front for dramatic effect, but it also could simply be that this was his personal experience of the plague.

The following comes from The Decameron as translated by Mark Musa and Peter Bondanella, 1982 CE. The account has been edited for space with omissions indicated by ellipses.

Let me say, then, that thirteen hundred and forty-eight years had already passed after the fruitful Incarnation of the Son of God when into the distinguished city of Florence…there came a deadly pestilence. Either because of the influence of heavenly bodies or because of God's just wrath as a punishment to mortals for our wicked deeds, the pestilence, originating some years earlier in the East, killed an infinite number of people as it spread relentlessly from one place to another until finally it had stretched its miserable length all over the West. And against this pestilence no human wisdom or foresight was of any avail; quantities of filth were removed from the city by officials charged with the task; the entry of any sick person into the city was prohibited; and many directives were issued concerning the maintenance of good health. Nor were the humble supplications rendered not once, but many times, by the pious to God, through public processions or by other means, in any way efficacious. Almost at the beginning of springtime of the year in question, the plague began to show its sorrowful effects in an extraordinary manner. It did not assume the form it had in the East, where bleeding from the nose was a manifest sign of inevitable death, but rather showed its first signs in men and women alike by means of swellings either in the groin or under the armpits, some of which grew to the size of an ordinary apple and others to the size of an egg (more or less), and the people called them gavoccioli (buboes). And from the two parts of the body already mentioned, in very little time, the said deadly gavoccioli began to spread indiscriminately over every part of the body; then, after this, the symptoms of the illness changed to black or livid spots appearing on the arms and thighs, and on every part of the body – sometimes there were large ones and other times a number of little ones scattered all around. And just as the gavoccioli were originally, and still are, a very definite indication of impending death, in like manner these spots came to mean the same thing for whoever contracted them. Neither a doctor's advice nor the strength of medicine could do anything to cure this illness; on the contrary, either the nature of the illness was such that it afforded no cure, or else the doctors were so ignorant that they did not recognize its cause and, as a result, could not prescribe the proper remedy (in fact, the number of doctors, other than the well-trained, was increased by a large number of men and women who had never had any medical training); at any rate, few of the sick were ever cured, and almost all died after the third day of the appearance of the previously described symptoms (some sooner, others later), and most of them died without fever or any other side effects. This pestilence was so powerful that it was transmitted to the healthy by contact with the sick, the way a fire close to dry or oily things will set them aflame. And the evil of the plague went even further: not only did talking to or being around the sick bring infection and a common death, but also touching the clothes of the sick or anything touched or used by them seemed to communicate this very disease to the person involved… There were some people who thought that living moderately and avoiding any excess might help a great deal in resisting this disease, and so they gathered in small groups and lived entirely apart from everyone else. They shut themselves up in those houses where there were no sick people and where one could live well by eating the most delicate of foods an drinking the finest of wines (doing so always in moderation), allowing no one to speak about or listen to anything said about the sick and dead outside; these people lived, entertaining themselves with music and other pleasures that they could arrange. Others thought the opposite: they believed that drinking excessively, enjoying life, going about singing and celebrating, satisfying in every way the appetites as best one could, laughing, and making light of everything that happened was the best medicine for such a disease; so they practiced to the fullest what they believed by going from one tavern to another all day and night, drinking to excess; and they would often make merry in private homes, doing everything that pleased or amused them the most. This they were able to do easily, for everyone felt he was doomed to die and, as a result, abandoned his property, so that most of the houses had become common property, and any stranger who came upon them used them as if her were their rightful owner… Remove Ads Advertisement Many others adopted a middle course between the two attitudes just described: neither did they restrict their food or drink so much as the first group nor did they fall into such dissoluteness and drunkenness as the second; rather, they satisfied their appetites to a moderate degree. They did not shut themselves up, but went around carrying in their hands flowers, or sweet-smelling herbs, or various kinds of spices; and they would often put these things to their noses, believing that such smells were a wonderful means of purifying the brain, for all the air seemed infected with the stench of dead bodies, sickness, and medicines… And not all those who adopted these diverse opinions died, nor did they all escape with their lives; on the contrary, many of those who thought this way were falling sick everywhere…brother abandoned brother, uncle abandoned nephew, sister left brother, and very often wife abandoned husband, and – even worse, almost unbelievable – fathers and mothers neglected to tend and care for their children as if they were not their own.. Many ended their lives in the public streets, during the day or at night, while many others who died in their homes were discovered dead by their neighbors only by the smell of their decomposing bodies. The city was full of corpses…Moreover, the dead were honored with no tears or candles or funeral mourners; in fact, things had reached such a point that the people who died were cared for as we care for goats today…So many corpses would arrive in front of a church every day and at every hour that the amount of holy ground for burials was certainly insufficient for the ancient custom of giving each body its individual place; when all the graves were full, huge trenches were dug in all of the cemeteries of the churches and into them the new arrivals were dumped by the hundreds; and they were packed in there with dirt, one on top of another, like a ship's cargo, until the trench was filled… What more can one say except that so great was the cruelty of Heaven, and, perhaps, also that of man, that from March to July of the same year, between the fury of the pestiferous sickness and the fact that many of the sick were badly treated or abandoned in need because of the fear that the healthy had, more than one hundred thousand human beings are believed to have lost their lives for certain inside the walls of the city of Florence – whereas before the deadly plague, one would not even have estimated there were actually that many people dwelling in the city.

Boccaccio's observation that religious supplications were of no use is reported by other sources on the plague which, like his, make clear that there was no other response which was any more useful. Various tracts were published offering advice but their suggestions were no more effective than prayer, fasting, and penitence had been. Scholar Don Nardo notes this in citing the medieval Italian writer Tommaso del Garbo who offered practical advice for people entering the homes of the infected:

Notaries, confessors, relations, and doctors who visit plague victims, on entering their houses, should open the windows so that the air is renewed and wash their hands with vinegar and rose water and also their faces, especially around their mouth and nostrils. It is also a good idea before entering the room to place in your mouth several cloves and eat two slices of bread soaked in the best wine and then drink the rest of the wine. Then, when leaving the room, you should douse yourself and your pulses with a sponge soaked in vinegar. Take care not to stay too close to the patient. (88)

None of the above, however, proved effective against the plague except the suggestion to keep one's distance from an infected person; known today as "social distancing". The port city of Ragusa (modern-day Dubrovnik, Croatia), which at that time was controlled by Venice, was the first to implement practical measures along these lines by isolating ships for thirty days under the policy of trentino (30 days) which was later extended to forty days under the law of quarantino (40 days) which gives English its word quarantine . Quarantine and social distance, therefore, were the only practical measures taken in stopping the spread of the disease and do seem to have been the only steps that had any effect.

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Religious responses to the plague were numerous and included public processions of flagellants who would pass through cities , towns, villages, and fields whipping themselves while begging God for forgiveness of humanity's sins. These movements were finally condemned by the Pope as ineffectual but, to the people of the time, every other religious response was equally useless. The perceived failure of religion to stop, or at least alleviate, the suffering and death of the plague turned many away from the medieval Church to seek answers elsewhere; an impulse which would eventually give rise to the humanistic worldview of the Renaissance.

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Bibliography

• Boccaccio, G; translated by Mark Musa & Peter Bondanella. The Decameron. Mentor Books, 1982.
• Christensen, P. Decline Of Iranshahr. I.B. Tauris, 2016.
• Internet History Sourcebooks Project: Boccaccio's Introduction to The Decameron , accessed 31 Mar 2020.
• Loyn, H. R. The Middle Ages: A Concise Encyclopedia. Thames & Hudson, 2001.
• Nardo, D. Living in the Middle Ages. Thompson/Gale Publishers, 2007.
• Ross, J. B. & McLaughlin, M. M. The Portable Medieval Reader. Penguin Classics, 1990.
• The Origin Of The Word ‘Quarantine’ by Johanna Mayer , accessed 31 Mar 2020.
• Tuchman, B. W. A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 1987.

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Mark, J. J. (2020, April 03). Boccaccio on the Black Death: Text & Commentary . World History Encyclopedia . Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1537/boccaccio-on-the-black-death-text--commentary/

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Bubonic Plague: a Historical Perspective on the Black Death

This essay about “Bubonic Plague: A Historical Perspective on the Black Death” unveils the haunting impact of the devastating pandemic that ravaged medieval Europe in the 14th century. Detailing the staggering human tragedy, societal shifts, and psychological toll, it illuminates the profound consequences of the Black Death. The text explores the reshaping of cultural and religious landscapes, as the plague prompted reevaluations and sparked creative expressions such as the Dance of Death paintings. Economically, the aftermath witnessed newfound mobility and interconnectedness, transforming the labor landscape and trade routes. Beyond a mere historical account, this essay prompts contemplation on the enduring echoes of the Bubonic Plague, emphasizing its indelible imprint on contemporary societies and human thought.

How it works

In the intricate tapestry of history, few threads are as dark and haunting as the Black Death, the Bubonic Plague that descended upon medieval Europe in the mid-14th century. This devastating pandemic, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, marked an epoch of unparalleled suffering, reshaping the contours of society, culture, and the very essence of human existence.

The Black Death was no ordinary calamity; it was a cataclysm that struck fear into the hearts of those unfortunate enough to witness its merciless advance.

As the contagion spread through flea-infested rats, it left a trail of devastation in its wake, claiming millions of lives and altering the course of history in ways both immediate and enduring.

At its core, the Bubonic Plague was a human tragedy of staggering proportions. Entire communities were decimated, leaving behind a landscape scarred by the sudden and widespread loss of life. The social structure of medieval Europe underwent a seismic shift as the balance of power tilted, fueled by a shortage of labor. The surviving peasantry, now in a position of newfound leverage, began to demand higher wages and improved working conditions, signaling the beginning of the end for the rigid feudal system.

However, the consequences of the Black Death reached beyond the stark demographic changes. The psychological toll on survivors was profound, echoing through generations like a grim refrain. The brutality of the plague, characterized by its gruesome symptoms and swift mortality, cast a long shadow, leaving individuals haunted by the specter of death. Artistic expressions from this era, such as the Dance of Death paintings, vividly captured the prevailing sense of existential dread and the inevitability of mortality.

Culturally, the Bubonic Plague prompted a profound reassessment of religious and philosophical beliefs. The Church, a dominant force in medieval society, faced unprecedented challenges to its authority as people grappled with the question of divine justice amidst widespread suffering. The crisis sparked theological debates and paved the way for the emergence of new religious movements and sects that sought to make sense of the inexplicable tragedy, reshaping spiritual landscapes.

The plague’s tendrils extended into the realms of art and literature, where the prevailing themes of morbidity and the transient nature of life found poignant expression. Works such as Boccaccio’s “The Decameron” and Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales” encapsulated the pervasive atmosphere of uncertainty and introspection that permeated post-plague society. Through these creative endeavors, individuals sought to make sense of the profound disruptions wrought by the Black Death.

Economically, the aftermath of the Bubonic Plague ushered in a new era of mobility and interconnectedness. The labor shortage prompted peasants to seek better opportunities, accelerating the decline of serfdom and catalyzing the growth of urban centers. Trade routes, once paralyzed by the fear of contagion, gradually reopened, fostering a renewed sense of economic activity and cultural exchange. The scars of the plague, while indelible, spurred a transformation that laid the groundwork for a more dynamic and interconnected Europe.

As we reflect on this historical perspective of the Black Death, we recognize that the Bubonic Plague was not merely a distant chapter confined to the pages of medieval chronicles. Its echoes persist in the fabric of our collective memory, shaping the trajectory of societies and influencing the evolution of human thought. This historical journey through the lens of the Bubonic Plague invites contemplation of the profound impact that this catastrophic event continues to exert on the world we inhabit today.

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83 Black Death Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best black death topic ideas & essay examples, ⭐ good research topics about black death, 👍 simple & easy black death essay titles, ❓ research questions about the black death.

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• Black Death and COVID-19 Comparison The availability of highly complex treatment systems and the provision of medical care to the majority of the population alleviates the potential negative effects of the virus, allowing sick individuals to receive necessary medications.
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• The Black Death in Europe: Spread and Causes The bacterium persists more commonly in the lymphatic system of the groin, armpits, and neck, and increasing pain of the bubonic elements is one of the central symptoms of the disease.
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• The Black Death Effect on the Medieval Europe It is inappropriate to perceive the problem only in the light of sharply declining numbers of population, and changes in the patterns of settlement.
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• The Black Death and Michael Dols’s Theory The biggest problem is that many believed that it cannot be contagious because of religious reasons, and it has led to numerous casualties. However, the issue is that it was not possible to control the […]
• The Black Death Disease’ History The disease is also believed to have come to Europe from the black mice that were often seen on the merchants’ boats.
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Black Death

By: History.com Editors

Updated: March 28, 2023 | Original: September 17, 2010

The Black Death was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s. The plague arrived in Europe in October 1347, when 12 ships from the Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina. People gathered on the docks were met with a horrifying surprise: Most sailors aboard the ships were dead, and those still alive were gravely ill and covered in black boils that oozed blood and pus. Sicilian authorities hastily ordered the fleet of “death ships” out of the harbor, but it was too late: Over the next five years, the Black Death would kill more than 20 million people in Europe—almost one-third of the continent’s population.

How Did the Black Plague Start?

Even before the “death ships” pulled into port at Messina, many Europeans had heard rumors about a “Great Pestilence” that was carving a deadly path across the trade routes of the Near and Far East. Indeed, in the early 1340s, the disease had struck China, India, Persia, Syria and Egypt.

The plague is thought to have originated in Asia over 2,000 years ago and was likely spread by trading ships , though recent research has indicated the pathogen responsible for the Black Death may have existed in Europe as early as 3000 B.C.

Symptoms of the Black Plague

Europeans were scarcely equipped for the horrible reality of the Black Death. “In men and women alike,” the Italian poet Giovanni Boccaccio wrote, “at the beginning of the malady, certain swellings, either on the groin or under the armpits…waxed to the bigness of a common apple, others to the size of an egg, some more and some less, and these the vulgar named plague-boils.”

Blood and pus seeped out of these strange swellings, which were followed by a host of other unpleasant symptoms—fever, chills, vomiting, diarrhea, terrible aches and pains—and then, in short order, death.

The Bubonic Plague attacks the lymphatic system, causing swelling in the lymph nodes. If untreated, the infection can spread to the blood or lungs.

How Did the Black Death Spread?

The Black Death was terrifyingly, indiscriminately contagious: “the mere touching of the clothes,” wrote Boccaccio, “appeared to itself to communicate the malady to the toucher.” The disease was also terrifyingly efficient. People who were perfectly healthy when they went to bed at night could be dead by morning.

Did you know? Many scholars think that the nursery rhyme “Ring around the Rosy” was written about the symptoms of the Black Death.

Understanding the Black Death

Today, scientists understand that the Black Death, now known as the plague, is spread by a bacillus called Yersinia  pestis . (The French biologist Alexandre Yersin discovered this germ at the end of the 19th century.)

They know that the bacillus travels from person to person through the air , as well as through the bite of infected fleas and rats. Both of these pests could be found almost everywhere in medieval Europe, but they were particularly at home aboard ships of all kinds—which is how the deadly plague made its way through one European port city after another.

Not long after it struck Messina, the Black Death spread to the port of Marseilles in France and the port of Tunis in North Africa. Then it reached Rome and Florence, two cities at the center of an elaborate web of trade routes. By the middle of 1348, the Black Death had struck Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon and London.

Today, this grim sequence of events is terrifying but comprehensible. In the middle of the 14th century, however, there seemed to be no rational explanation for it.

No one knew exactly how the Black Death was transmitted from one patient to another, and no one knew how to prevent or treat it. According to one doctor, for example, “instantaneous death occurs when the aerial spirit escaping from the eyes of the sick man strikes the healthy person standing near and looking at the sick.”

How Do You Treat the Black Death?

Physicians relied on crude and unsophisticated techniques such as bloodletting and boil-lancing (practices that were dangerous as well as unsanitary) and superstitious practices such as burning aromatic herbs and bathing in rosewater or vinegar.

Meanwhile, in a panic, healthy people did all they could to avoid the sick. Doctors refused to see patients; priests refused to administer last rites; and shopkeepers closed their stores. Many people fled the cities for the countryside, but even there they could not escape the disease: It affected cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens as well as people.

In fact, so many sheep died that one of the consequences of the Black Death was a European wool shortage. And many people, desperate to save themselves, even abandoned their sick and dying loved ones. “Thus doing,” Boccaccio wrote, “each thought to secure immunity for himself.”

The Black Death: A Timeline of the Gruesome Pandemic

Track how the Black Death ravaged humanity through history.

How the Black Death Spread Along the Silk Road

The Silk Road was a vital trading route connecting East and West—but it also became a conduit for one of history's deadliest pandemics.

Pandemics That Changed History

In the realm of infectious diseases, a pandemic is the worst case scenario. When an epidemic spreads beyond a country’s borders, that’s when the disease officially becomes a pandemic. Communicable diseases existed during humankind’s hunter‑gatherer days, but the shift to agrarian life 10,000 years ago created communities that made epidemics more possible. Malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, […]

Black Plague: God’s Punishment?

Because they did not understand the biology of the disease, many people believed that the Black Death was a kind of divine punishment—retribution for sins against God such as greed, blasphemy, heresy, fornication and worldliness.

By this logic, the only way to overcome the plague was to win God’s forgiveness. Some people believed that the way to do this was to purge their communities of heretics and other troublemakers—so, for example, many thousands of Jews were massacred in 1348 and 1349. (Thousands more fled to the sparsely populated regions of Eastern Europe, where they could be relatively safe from the rampaging mobs in the cities.)

Some people coped with the terror and uncertainty of the Black Death epidemic by lashing out at their neighbors; others coped by turning inward and fretting about the condition of their own souls.

Flagellants

Some upper-class men joined processions of flagellants that traveled from town to town and engaged in public displays of penance and punishment: They would beat themselves and one another with heavy leather straps studded with sharp pieces of metal while the townspeople looked on. For 33 1/2 days, the flagellants repeated this ritual three times a day. Then they would move on to the next town and begin the process over again.

Though the flagellant movement did provide some comfort to people who felt powerless in the face of inexplicable tragedy, it soon began to worry the Pope, whose authority the flagellants had begun to usurp. In the face of this papal resistance, the movement disintegrated.

Social Distancing and Quarantine Were Used in Medieval Times to Fight the Black Death

In the 14th century, health officials didn't understand bacteria or viruses, but they understood the importance of keeping a distance and disinfecting.

How One 17th‑Century Italian City Fended Off the Plague

The town of Ferrara managed to avoid even a single death from the widespread contagion. How did they do it?

5 Hard‑Earned Lessons from Pandemics of the Past

How do populations survive a pandemic? History offers some strategies.

How Did the Black Death End?

The plague never really ended and it returned with a vengeance years later. But officials in the port city of Ragusa were able to slow its spread by keeping arriving sailors in isolation until it was clear they were not carrying the disease—creating social distancing that relied on isolation to slow the spread of the disease.

The sailors were initially held on their ships for 30 days (a trentino ), a period that was later increased to 40 days, or a quarantine — the origin of the term “quarantine” and a practice still used today. 

Does the Black Plague Still Exist?

The Black Death epidemic had run its course by the early 1350s, but the plague reappeared every few generations for centuries. Modern sanitation and public-health practices have greatly mitigated the impact of the disease but have not eliminated it. While antibiotics are available to treat the Black Death, according to The World Health Organization, there are still 1,000 to 3,000 cases of plague every year.

Gallery: Pandemics That Changed History

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What were the symptoms of the Black Death?

How did the black death affect europe, what are other names for the black death.

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Black Death

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How many people died during the Black Death?

It is not known for certain how many people died during the Black Death. About 25 million people are estimated to have died in Europe from the plague between 1347 and 1351.

What caused the Black Death?

The Black Death is believed to have been the result of plague , an infectious fever caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis . The disease was likely transmitted from rodents to humans by the bite of infected fleas.

Where did the Black Death originate?

The plague that caused the Black Death originated in China in the early to mid-1300s and spread along trade routes westward to the Mediterranean and northern Africa. It reached southern England in 1348 and northern Britain and Scandinavia by 1350.

Yersinia causes three types of plague in humans: bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. Although there is DNA evidence that Yersinia was present in victims of the Black Death, it is uncertain which form the majority of the infection took. It is likely that all three played some role in the pandemic.

Bubonic plague causes fever, fatigue, shivering, vomiting, headaches, giddiness, intolerance to light, pain in the back and limbs, sleeplessness, apathy, and delirium. It also causes buboes: one or more of the lymph nodes become tender and swollen, usually in the groin or armpits.

Pneumonic plague affects the lungs and causes symptoms similar to those of severe pneumonia: fever, weakness, and shortness of breath. Fluid fills the lungs and can cause death if untreated. Other symptoms may include insomnia, stupor, a staggering gait, speech disorder, and loss of memory.

Septicemic plague is an infection of the blood. Its symptoms include fatigue, fever, and internal bleeding.

The effects of the Black Death were many and varied. Trade suffered for a time, and wars were temporarily abandoned. Many labourers died, which devastated families through lost means of survival and caused personal suffering; landowners who used labourers as tenant farmers were also affected. The labour shortage caused landowners to substitute wages or money rents in place of labour services in an effort to keep their tenants, which benefited those surviving tenants. Wages for artisans and other workers also increased. Art in the wake of the Black Death became more preoccupied with mortality and the afterlife. Anti-Semitism greatly intensified throughout Europe, as Jews were blamed for the spread of the Black Death, and many Jews were killed by mobs or burned at the stake en masse.

The Black Death has also been called the Great Mortality, a term derived from medieval chronicles’ use of magna mortalitas . This term, along with magna pestilencia (“great pestilence”), was used in the Middle Ages to refer to what we know today as the Black Death as well as to other outbreaks of disease. “Black Plague” is also sometimes used to refer to the Black Death, though it is rarely used in scholarly studies.

Recent News

Black Death , pandemic that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351, taking a proportionately greater toll of life than any other known epidemic or war up to that time.

The Black Death is widely believed to have been the result of plague , caused by infection with the bacterium Yersinia pestis . Modern genetic analyses indicate that the strain of Y. pestis introduced during the Black Death is ancestral to all extant circulating Y. pestis strains known to cause disease in humans. Hence, the origin of modern plague epidemics lies in the medieval period. Other scientific evidence has indicated that the Black Death may have been viral in origin.

The Black Death: A Personal History Essay Questions

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The black death plague was not a health issue but rather a religious issue Show how the writer presents the plague as a religious crisis rather than a health crisis in The Black Death: A Personal History

Written employing the point of view of the local priest, Master John, the book follows the happenings as a result of the black death plague. Through the priest’s eyes and those of the other people, the book examines the question of whether the crisis is a health one as opposed to being a religious one. Throughout the pages, Master John and the other priests struggle in an attempt to find the reason and religious meaning behind the plague. In this sense, these characters are of the idea that the plague is a religious issue. There is a hovering assertion that the plague was sent by God as a punishment. The assertion of the disease being religious-related is thus valid as an argument as it clearly presents the politics affecting the Catholic church.

Show the role that the black death epidemic plays in resulting in economic inequality as presented in John Hatcher’s The Black Death: A Personal History .

The black death as an epidemic spread quickly and widely being transferred from one individual to another and across villages. In so doing, the disease is presented as being responsible for wiping out and eradicating fairly large proportions of people a situation that results into the introduction of unfairness in the distribution of economic resources in the society in which the story is set. This resulted in a different way of doing things. Upon its climax, the poor became poorer and class struggles are implicit. Europe thus required rebuilding as the system was essentially broken.

What role do the historical account at the beginning of chapters in The Black Death: A Personal History play?

In this work, the black death epidemic is brought out quite vividly through the writer’s employment of the perception of Master John as well as other characters. However, the writer also includes a historical account and explanation of events as they were, which plays the role of being the backdrop to the unfolding events through the book.

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Although people are struggling to find treatment for diseases like AIDS and cancer, the modern era is healthier compared to hundred years ago.  Human beings have come close to extinction through sicknesses like smallpox, Cholera, and Typhus. However, humanity has managed to withstand their effects and survive. A review of...

The impact of the Black Death on the arts in Fourteenth-Century Europe The historical period of the 1330s to 1340s experienced the greatest disaster in history. Europe was stricken by the deadly catastrophic plague that terminated the more than half the people in cities such as Venice.  The bubonic wave of...

People in the Middle Ages held that illness was brought on by sin or God's displeasure, so they thought that the Black Death was brought on by his wrath. People responded to the issue by turning to God for prevention because they believed that since God caused the disease, He...

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The Black Death and its Devastating Impact The Black Death was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, and it changed the course of European civilization forever. From 1346 to 1353, the plague killed an estimated 50 million people in Europe and the Mediterranean region, a devastating loss of life...

One of the most negative occurrences in human history was the Black Death pandemic. Between 1347 and 1350, it comprised a number of social, economic, and religious changes that had a tremendous impact on Europe. The annihilation of populations, which led to the deaths of between 30% and 60% of...

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Essay On The Black Death

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Death , Town , History , Sociology , Health , Population , Europe , Pandemic

Words: 2000

Published: 11/13/2019

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The Black Death

Introduction

The Black Death stands out as one of the most destructive pandemics to occur in human history that claimed many lives in Europe between 1348 and 1350. The underlying cause of the pandemic has been a controversial subject, characterized with different perspectives concerning the explanation for its cause. The first reports of the Black Death were in Europe during the summer of 1346 and this occurred in the town of Caffe in the Crimea. The city of Caffa was under siege by the Tartars who would launch corpses infected with the disease over the walls of the city with the intentions of weakening the city’s defenses. The residents of Caffa escaped the attack to other areas through use of boats and in the process carried the disease with them. The Black Death was a term which collectively referred to three separate plagues with the Bubonic and septicaemic plague being carried by fleas while the pneumonic plague was viral in nature and was spread through the air.

The Black Death killed approximately 30-40 percent of the population, resulting to a significant reduction in the world’s population (Byrne, 2004). As the population in Europe started growing, cities began to grow at unprecedented rate bringing with it conditions like waste accumulation, overcrowding and water pollution which only served to provide an enabling environment for the black death to occur. Various sources attribute the main cause of the Black Death to be the outbreak of bubonic plague as a result of the bacterium yersinia pestis. The plague spread throughout Europe and the Mediterranean as a result of being carried by oriental rat fleas residing on black cats which resided in passenger and merchant ships.

Recent forensic search reveals that the major cause of the Black Death was a bubonic plague thought to have originally come from China and spread to regions of Europe by merchant ships. The European’s population recovered from the plague in duration of one and a half centuries. It is evident that the Black Death pandemic had vast effects on the religious and socio-economic turmoil on the history of Europe.

In order to ascertain the religious and socio-economic consequences of the Black Death, it is important to first analyze an overview of the causes of the Black Death pandemic. Prior to the onset of Black Death during the mid 14th century, Europe had not witnessed epidemic ailments. Historians contest that the Black Death had its origin in China and spread to other parts in Europe by ship. It is evident that the scale of the Black Death pandemic had severe impacts on the social structure of Europe’s population (Campbell, 2009). Due to lack of contemporary records concerning the plague, the principal cause of the pandemic has been subject to controversy with different researchers and historians contesting to different causes of the pandemic. The most accepted explanation for cause of the Black Death was the bubonic plague, which argues that the pathogen responsible for causing the plague is Yersinia pestis transmitted by rats and fleas (Herlihy, 1997). The following section outlines the consequences of the plague with respect to socio-economic and religious factors.

The massive population losses associated with the Black Death meant that it had some effects on the social, economic and religious structures of the European population during the 14th century and the subsequent years that followed in the history of Europe. A rough estimate on the mortality rate of the Black Death suggests that in a period of two years, the pandemic claimed one out of every three lives, nothing like that had ever happened in human history. For instance, it is estimated the Black Death claimed lives of about 45-75 percent population of Florence within one year, resulting to the collapse of its economic system (Herlihy, 1997). About 60 per cent of Venice population died within a span of 18 months, approximately 500-600 deaths daily. Such death rates had significant effects on the population structure of the most affected areas. Higher mortality rates affected certain professions whose line of duty required contact with the already sick, for instance the doctors and clergymen (Ormrod, 1996).

The survival rates during the times of the pandemic for such professions were low. For example, eight physicians died out of nine in Perpignan. The high mortality rates significantly affected the religious structure of Europe’s population since most of the clergies had contact with the patients, and this implied that their survival rates were at stake. Historical accounts report that 30 percent of the cardinals succumbed to the pandemic. Recovery of the population loss took approximately 150 years, with urban population recovering faster due to factors such as immigration. Population in the rural areas recovered gradually also due to increased migration to the urban centers. Special groups were the most affected by the Black Death Pandemic, for instance, the friars. It is evident that the Black Death drew a dividing line in the middle Ages into a strong medieval culture and later middle Ages characterized by a strong population and a reduced population respectively (Byrne, 2004).

The Black Death was responsible for economic disruption in Europe during the 14th century, and its effects propagated in the following years. The most affected were the urban cities since they experienced an economic meltdown due to disruption in business activities because there was no time to concentrate on business yet a plague had hit the population. Projects such as building and construction came to a halt. The plague significantly affected Mills and machinery industry by inflicting death on the skilled personnel who had the ability to attend to such machineries (Olea & Christakos, 2005). The Black Death did not spare artisans either, resulting to an economic sabotage for the guilds. This reveals the severity of the labor shortage during the years that the plague was peaking and the subsequent years that followed. As the population reduced, Europe supply of goods increased sand since there was little population, the prices significantly dropped. This meant that those who survived the plague, their standard of living increased. The economic activities in the rural areas also succumbed to the pandemic. This is because most of the population died, and the few survivors decided to move on. It is evident that there was labor shortage in the rural areas during the peak of the pandemic (Olea & Christakos, 2005). It is arguable that the economic disruption caused by Black Death is responsible for the guild revolts that occurred during the century and rebellions in the rural areas of Europe. For instance, England witnessed the Peasant’s revolt during 1381. There a series of revolts that occurred in Europe, such as the rebellion from Catalonian that took place during 1395, and the Jacquerie rebellion that took place during 1358. This serves to reveal the impacts of the Black Death pandemic with regard to economic disruptions and the social structure of Europe’s population (Olea & Christakos, 2005).

The Black Death pandemic affected all of Europe’s population without discrimination, therefore having serious effects on the social relations of the European population. Most chronicles reported that the plague affected everyone, irrespective of one’s social status. Generally, all the elements that made up the community suffered from the plague. For instance, learning institutions found in places mostly affected by the plague closed down. Historical accounts report that only 26 professors survived out of the 40 found in Cambridge University. Religious institutions also succumbed to the effects of the plague through death of the priests and Bishops and their successors (Ormrod, 1996). The most affected religious institution was the Catholic Church. The increased mortality rates associated with Black Death had immense effects on social relations among European population. The European population during the time had no knowledge of the underlying cause of the plague during the time, because of this; they vested their vengeance of the Jews and other foreigners as possible causes of the plague. This is evident by the massive attacks on Jewish communities during 1349. Even the European governments had no mechanism to approach the plague since there was no one who knew how the plague was transmitted from one person to another; as a result, people believed that it was God’s wrath, which resulted to such devastating occurrences (Herlihy, 1997).

The Black Death pandemic had cultural effects in terms of art and literature in Europe within the generation that had a firsthand experience on the plague and subsequent generations. Chroniclers, who were famous writers, are the ones responsible for keeping records on the events of the Black Death. The despair associated with Black Death got its way into the famous works of art and literature in Europe during the later years in the 14th century. The most striking evidence is the tomb sculptures of the times (Olea & Christakos, 2005). Black Death significantly influenced the decorations on the tomb sculptures. The onset of the 1400 saw some tomb sculptures being designed as a way of remembering the pandemic. Artists who designed sculptures on tombs incorporated themes depicting the Black Death by sculpting bodies showing the signs of the pandemic. The pandemic also got its way into paintings of the time, with a painting style commonly referred to as danse macabre, meaning the Dance of Death (Herlihy, 1997). The painting style emphasized on a combination of skeletons interacting with normal beings during their undertaking of daily activities. The most striking element about the paintings is that each scene had an element of living combined with skeletons. This works of art and literature were commissioned with the aim of remembering the Black Death pandemic. Therefore, the Black Death played a big role in influencing subsequent works of Art and Literature across Europe. (Byrne, 2004).

The Black Death pandemic played a significant role in influencing the political cause of Europe. A significant number of political nobles and reigning monarchs died of the plague. The most notable being the queen of France and the queen of Aragon. The plague also affected government operations since it caused the adjournment of parliaments. The war in Europe came was affected by the plague since most of the soldiers died because of the Black Death pandemic. The most notable political effect of the Black Death pandemic was at local levels of governance, whereby city councils were destroyed and the closure of courts. The effects on political disruption were not permanent because government had to resume its duties immediately after the Black Death pandemic (Cohn, 2002).

An overview of the effects of the Black Death Pandemic serves as a demarcation of the Middle Ages in the European History. The consequences of the Black Death cannot be underestimated in the history of Europe. The economic, social and political disruptions of the Black Death marks an integral part of the History of Europe as evident in its effects described in the paper. It is evident that the Black Death pandemic had vast effects on the religious and socio-economic turmoil on the history of Europe.

Byrne, J. (2004). The Black Death. London: GreenWood Publishing Group. Campbell, B. (2009). Factor markets in England before the Black Death. Continuity and change, 24 (1), 79-106. Cohn, S. (2002). The Black Death Transformed: Disease and Culture in Early Renaissance. London: Arnold Publishers. Herlihy, D. (1997). The Black Death and the Transformation of the West. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Olea, R., & Christakos, G. (2005). Urban Mortality and the Black Death. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. Ormrod, W. (1996). The Black Death in England. Stamford, UK: Paul Watkins.

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Black Death

This inquiry is framed by the compelling question “Can disease change the world?” Among the many catastrophic global pandemics in history, perhaps none achieved the notoriety of the Black Death. The Black Death was a massive outbreak of the bubonic plague caused by infectious bacteria. Thought by scientists to have been spread by contaminated fleas on rats and/or other rodents, the Black Death quickly decimated entire families and communities. In doing so, the Black Death led more than one observer of the time to ponder whether the apocalypse had begun. The Black Death began and first spread on the Silk Roads through central Asia in the early 14th century, and by mid-century moved via merchant ships into North Africa and Europe, where it would kill nearly one-half of the population. It took almost 150 years for Europe’s population to recover. By investigating the compelling question “Can disease change the world?” students consider the causes, symptoms, and reasons for the rapid geographic expansion of the disease and how this pandemic affected people of the 14th century and beyond. Through their investigation of sources in this inquiry, students should develop an understanding of the consequences of the Black Death and an informed awareness of the importance of preparing for future diseases and possible pandemics.

Compelling Question:

Can disease change the world, staging the question:.

Supporting Question What was the Black Death?

Formative Task Write a description of the Black Death that includes its symptoms and where outbreaks occurred in Europe and Asia.

Sources Source A: Excerpts from Decameron Source B: Illustration of the Black Death

Supporting Question How did the Black Death spread so quickly?

Formative Task Construct a diagram illustrating how the Black Death spread.

Sources Source A: Plague Ecology visual Source B: Map depicting spread of the Black Death

Supporting Question How did the Black Death affect people in the 14th century?

Formative Task Create an annotated illustration depicting how the Black Death affected different groups of people in the 14th century.

Sources Source A: Bubonic plague statistics Source B: Illustration of the persecution of Jews during the Black Death Source C: Social and Economic Effects of the Plague

Summative Performance Task

Taking informed action.

The Black Death

28 pages • 56 minutes read

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Discussion Questions

How did the unknown origin of the plague, as well as the inability to find a cure, affect the lives and attitudes of the citizens of Europe?

Research another pandemic—either the Spanish Flu of 1918, or the Covid pandemic of 2020. How has reading The Black Death contributed to your understanding of how a society should react to a global pandemic or health crisis? How were medieval reactions to the Black Death similar to those of the recent past? How were they different?

How did the limited state of medieval medical knowledge contribute to the spread of the Black Death? Why did superstition and disinformation spread in the absence of scientific understanding?

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The Black Death: An Essay on Traumatic Change

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In tandem with our online Psychohistory Discussion List ( [email protected] ) discussion about the medieval world ("Assessing the Black Death and Trauma Relived"), consider this idea: Might all of the changes brought by the plagues have profoundly reshaped the European world and set in motion a sense of having succeeded too well and needing some cleansing. Thus, the imprint of the Black Death was to alter life so profoundly by reducing overpopulation that people began doing well again. This allowed a new sense of wonder, a new sense of cultural possibilities, and a sense that they needed to atone for their success and find a new path to Mommy's love.1 Thus, as a result of profound traumatic change, a window of opportunity for change emerged allowing childrearing improvements as well as societal realignment.

The medieval world, in particular, inherited many of the most brutal authoritarian features of previous civilizations that were only exacerbated by this persistently dysfunctional period. Would that we could simply declare that early childhood abandonment (e.g., to wetnurses, relatives, craftsmen, church, colleagues, foster care) established psychic defense patterns in children conditioning the willingness of adult societies to harm others. That projection onto others of one's own unresolved abandoningparent issues allowed these societies to viciously attack/destroy/deport [abandonment reenactment] those whom they had declared as their "enemies". That (and here I project forward in history) very same abandonment reenactment has encouraged modern-day mass deportations of hated resident aliens or, worse yet, ethnic annihilation. Of course, this is all true but it is definitely not simple.

Clearly, there was a universality of child abuse, usually inflicted by immature parents and wetnurses, built into the social fabric. It was molded into each society's fundamental essence, supported by accepted moral values and overlooked or embraced as "normal" by literature and religion. Thus, inserted into society's fabric in childrearing, abandoning and intrusive and always abusive childhood encouraged group-fantasies allowing wars, depressions, social injustice and mass delusions - to "stay 'sane' by being able to participate in group craziness rather than having to experience idiosyncratic craziness.2

To be clear about the terminology we will be using, we understand that psychological problems result from repression or denial or forgetting feelings and events from traumatic and undigested experiences as well as "from...

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