How Did The Bubonic Plague Affect European Culture

Change in European Understanding of Plague in the 1348 versus 1352 Known as the “Black Death,” one of the most devastating plague pandemic wiped out approximately 30 to 60 percent of the European population, peaking in between 1348 and 1350 . It caused massive religious, social, and economic, upheaval in the European society causing great changes in the European culture and lifestyle1. Finally, when after three and a half years the first wave passed in 1351, it spared few regions causing devastation in towns, rural communities, families, and religious institutions . The plague was reportedly first introduced to Europe via the ports of Caffa and Sicily in 1347, when several Italian merchant ships returned from a trip to the Black Sea, one of the key links in trade with China .

Many started to question the church and they started doing things that were seen as sinful, such as drinking, laughing and dancing all day despite death being all around them. To sum up everything that has been stated, the Black Death brought many positive and negative changes to medieval Europe that would end up in the downfall of the feudal system and changing the way society worked. Bibliography: Armstrong, D. (2021). How the Black Death Devastated the Church.

The Black Death has been marked as one of the worst plagues to have ever struck humans in history, since it killed twenty five million Europeans in the course of the plague, and twenty million in Asia. (“The Black Death, JewishHistory.com) The Black Death took place in England in the fourteen century and killed millions between the years 1347-1350.(“Black Death”, n.p.) This came after an already terrible period in European history known as the Great Famine which left many people dead; the source starvation. The Great Famine occurred because of terrible climate changes that led to a disastrous farming season, that resulted in England loosing “…about 15 percent of its population during the famine years, between 1317 and 1348…”

Cylina Schibig Paris Hendry English 2020 2 April 2023 Yellow Wallpaper and Turn of the Screws One of the most lethal pandemics in recorded human history was the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death. Between 75 and 200 million individuals are thought to have perished during the 14th century. The disease was caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis that was spread by fleas living on rats. The bubonic plague had a profound impact on society, leading to economic collapse, social unrest, and religious upheaval.

The Bubonic plague ended up being catastrophic, and so devastating to European society because it caused changes in attitude towards religion, changes in population, and an increase of antisemitism. The Black Death spread so quickly through Europe that people did not even have time to process what was going on. As seen in the map “The Bubonic Plague spreads through Europe,”

Europe in the fifteen hundreds was a dangerous, local, hierarchic, tradition-bound, slow moving, and poor filled with the tasks of providence, salvation and community. Europe during the fifteen hundreds were a dangerous place; disease, famine, and violence all prevented the population of the era to live a long life. One of the major killers during the time was disease. Disease and plagues killed major parts of the population, the bubonic plague, for example, claimed the lives of perhaps a third of Europe’s population in five years.

There were very few who dared to travel long distances, but exceptions existed (Doc 12). Physicians and scholars were unable to identify the cause of the plague and therefore developed false reasons for its spread. Erasmus of Rotterdam, a Dutch humanist and classical scholar, demonstrated this by blaming the plague on unsanitary conditions in cities (Doc 2). Johann Weyer, a German physician, gave a more outlandish explanation for the plague, people “smeared the bolts of the town gates with an ointment to spread the plague” (Doc 4).

Some people believed that the plague came because of the sins committed in that town or city. As a result of this belief, Flagellants emerged. This group of people would publicly whip themselves in order to receive forgiveness of their sins and prevention of the plague. Others had a different view. Many people believed that the Jews, a non-Christian people, had poisoned their water, causing the plague.

When the bubonic plague first arrived no-one knew what the cause was. The physicians at the time thought the plague was caused by “body fluids being out of balance” (Chapter Three: GREAT PLAGUES

The Bubonic Plague, other wise known as the Black Death, was a devastating pandemic that swept through Europe in the late 1340s and the early 1350s. The Bubonic Plague was thought to have originated in central Asia. There it was thought to have spread throughout Europe from rats and fleas that were carried from central Asia to Europe by merchant ships. The Bubonic Plague had a devastating effect on economic, religious, social, and cultural aspects in Europe.

A modern day event that can be compared to the plague is Ebola. The Bubonic Plague led to an advancement in medicine and other health related practices. The outbreak of the plague caused sewer systems

The Black Death was a disease that had a catastrophic impact on Europe. Reaching Europe in 1347, the plague killed an estimation of one-third of the population in the first wave. Each document varies with its reasons for the cause of the plague and how to deal with it. The first document Ordinances against the Spread of Plague seemed to blame Pisa and Lucca for the plague and thus, began to forbid contact with those places. It was forbidden for citizens of Pistoia to go to, or have contact with anyone or anything from Pisa or Lucca.

A Priest in Italy, Father Dragoni, provided for those with the plague by feeding the ill and paid guards to help with the recovery process. As a priest at that time, Father Dragoni worked with the state and people in high positions to help those who were impacted by the plague. He felt the obligation to help those to practice good deeds, most likely for salvation, an idea that was spread among the Catholics in Italy during that time. (Doc 9) The Plague Column, built after the Plague thanked God for ending it.

The art of the period also showed the bleakness of the situation. Drawings were morose, full of death and destruction.” People began to be more fascinated with artists and literature to find happiness as many people were affected by the disease and dying. Art was a distraction from the negative things happening from the plague. During the Renaissance period the Black Plague had a negative effect on the people living during that time.

It was the Spring of 1348, and the citizens of Europe were malnourished due to limited food supplies for such a large population. This made them more susceptible to the outbreak of the Black Death. The Black Death originated in Asia, then moved westward into Sicily. From Sicily, the plague crept its way up through Europe infecting millions of people, in total killing more than one third of Europe’s population. In fact, over fifty percent of the population of Siena died, along with fifty percent of Paris, eighty percent of Florence, and over two thirds of Venice.