Running head: BLACK DEATH

The Black Death

Alondra Hernandez

Salt Lake Community College

Introduction
Running head: BLACK DEATH

The black death was a devastating global plague that originated in the mid

1300’s century, peaking in 1348 and 1350. It was the worst catastrophe in the history of

europe and left the world without hope. Over the course of the Black Death, it would kill

more than 20 million people in Europe, eding one third of the continent's population. The

fear of death leads fathers and mothers to refuse to see their children as if they never

knew them. People were divided and many Families and friends turned away to secure

their own safety, no one knew how to behave or react. I chose to research the black

death because it is really interesting to see what resulted from the plague. It was

indiscriminately contagious and you never knew if you had it because you could be

healthy one night and dead by the morning.

Background

In 13th century Europe, it was a well populated and sophisticated community. A

place where merchants, soldiers, and people move about in society. At the time no one

in the world was busier than the port of florence italy. The cities were crowded and

unfortunately, that meant it as the perfect place for a virus to spread. Today, scientists

say the plague was spread by a bacillus called Yersina pestis. They traveled from

person to person through the air and through fleas and rats. In medieval Europe, these

pests were found everywhere and they helped carry the virus from port to port. In our

technologically advanced lifestyle this makes sense, but at the time people felt hopeless

because there was no logical explanation as to why so many people were dying.

Origination
Running head: BLACK DEATH

The plague arrived at the Sicilian port of Messina when 12 ships docked in the

autumn of 1947. “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” (History, 2010). Although

research has shown pathogens responsible for The Black Death have been found in

Europe since 3000 BC. After the Plague had landed they did notice it was spreading

through the different trade ports in Europe which is how they confirmed how it was

being spread.

Symptoms

No one was prepared for the speed that this virus would spread at. “The Bubonic

Plague attacks the lymphatic system, causing swelling in the lymph nodes. If untreated,

the infection can spread to the blood or lungs” (History, 2010). It started with flu-like

symptoms and produced pneumonia like lungs. It would eventually escalate to vomiting

and pus filled swelling in the victims necks, groins and armpits. The Internal

hemorrhaging produced black and purple splotches and eventually ended in death at

least within a week.

Healthcare and Remedies

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Everyone was terrified, but the wealthy citizens were looking to buy their way to

finding a cure and escape this death sentence. Some doctors advised to eat lettuce and

alternate sleeping from the left to the right. Some doctors also tested a form of using the

human body to help themselves. The remedy consisted of gum resin, roots of white

lilies, and dried human excrement. Unfortunately those methods failed and the doctor

who tested these methods died as well from being exposed to the virus.

Religion

With doctors not finding a cure, everyone had no other choice but to turn to

religion. Because there was no explanation for the deaths, many people believed it was

a divine punishment from God and they worried about what would stop the rage of god.

Everyone was frightened and this was the time to be as religious as possible. Popes

suggested prayer and religious possession were the route to salvation, but people

quickly turned to other ways to prove their belief in religion. Out of fear, the Flagellants

came out and were people who were looking to demonstrate their religion. They sought

to repel the balc death by whipping themselves in public displays of penance. “This

approach to achieving redemption was most popular during times of crisis. Prolonged

plague, hunger, drought and other natural maladies would motivate thousands to resort

to this extreme method of seeking relief. Despite condemnation by the Catholic Church,

the movement gained strength and reached its greatest popularity during the onslaught

of the Black Death that ravaged Europe in the mid-fourteenth century. Wearing white

robes, large groups of the sect (many numbering in the thousands) roamed the

countryside dragging crosses while whipping themselves into a religious frenzy” ("The
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Flagellants Attempt to Repel the Black Death, 1349", 2010). Unfortunately, Religion

was no shield and the flagellants were helping the pandemic spread faster because of

the bodily fluids. Even the clergymen who facilitated funerals would contact the disease

and die as well.

Outcomes

Harvest went gathered, livestock was unattended, and everyone's life was

paused. City life stopped, sanitation collapsed, food wasn't being made, and order of

any kind was out the door. No one expected to live and people lived like it was going to

be their last. They would satisfy themselves as much as possible and drink from tavern

to tavern.

The death rate was so quick that people didn't know where to bury so many

people. Eventually, the only solution was to dig huge trenches where thousands of

people were disposed of. People believed the plague was spread through the air and

had nowhere to turn for safety or salvation. Medicine failed, religious cults appeared and

people turned on each other in acts of cruelty. Citizens took the matter into their own

hands and decided to purge their communities of heretics and other troublemakers

resulting in many Jews being unfairly massacred in 1348 and 1349.

Conclusion

I chose to research The Black Death because we are currently going through a

pandemic as well. It is an interesting time where people are scared and keeping a
Running head: BLACK DEATH

distance from others. Most of us don't know what to do and i'm sure the people in the

14th century were much more afraid of the situation. Thankfully today we had answers

and logical reasons as to why this is happening, but medieval Europeans had no idea.

Just like today, the implementation of quarantines helped get rid of the plague. Although

many deaths occurred, the self quarantining helped save many lives.

Citations

History.com Editors. (2010, September 17). Black Death. Retrieved from

https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/black-death
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"The Flagellants Attempt to Repel the Black Death, 1349", EyeWitness to History,

www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2010).