Rediscovery: The Black Death Of The Renaissance

Despite the gruesome and terrible deaths the Black Death caused, the preventative public health measures Medieval cities and towns took to stop the spread of disease influenced the development of public health boards and policies. The Black Death was an epidemic since the population experienced “a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time.” The Black Death was caused by the bacterial strain Yersinia pestis, which is highly lethal. Yersinia pestis lives in the digestive system of fleas, and secondary carriers to the disease are rodents, as well as other common house and barn animals.

The Positive Effects of the Black Death The Black Death was the fear-inducing disease that struck medieval Europe. Nevertheless, positive effects can emerge from what is described as nothing but a catastrophe. The Black Death was the most fatal plague in history and forever changed the course of Europe's society. Before the epidemic, the Roman Catholic Church was seen as all-powerful and was obeyed by most citizens.

The book, “The Great Mortality” by John Kelly, explores how the Black Death spread across Europe and Asia from 1347 to 1351 and left a trail of terrors in its path. Kelly describes the history of the plague from witnesses of the disaster. It describes how the black rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis spread the infection throughout this region, killing over half of the population. Kelly describes the measures taken by the town, the church and health organizations to prevent the Plague from spreading. Although there are many important issues brought to light by Kelly, some offer more discussion and though than others.

It impacted art in some aspects and it helped with the ascension of the Renaissance. This paper argues that The Black Death did indeed contribute to the start of the Renaissance in Europe. The Black Death was a tragedy that Europe and perhaps the whole world had never experienced before. The plague may have originated from China and was brought to the

As stated in Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron: The Plague Hits Florence, ca. 1350, “… nor omitting prayers to God in frequent processions: in the spring of the forgoing year, it began to show itself in a sad and wonderful manner; and, different from what it had been in the east… in some cases large and but few in number, in others smaller and more numerous, both sorts the usual messengers of death…,” (Boccaccio, “The Decameron: The Plague Hits Florence”, Sources, 188). As a result of the Black Death, people asked for forgiveness for their sins, prayed, trusted in God, made donations to churches, and tried to live better lives. People believed these were the best remedies to help them get through the tragedy. Instead of seeing the Black Death as a medical issue, they saw it as the result of an evil within themselves and thought God was punishing them for their sins.

Often as a result of overpopulation, pandemics—like swine flu and ebola, for instance—have affected life on Earth for centuries; one of the most well-known, and possibly the most unforgiving epidemics was the Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death . Although the first symptoms of the Plague trace back to the Mongol Empire in 1331, the disease first struck Europe in Venice and Genoa during the winter of 1348. In the following years, the Bubonic Plague spread rapidly throughout Europe, killing roughly a third of its population. It is suggested that the rapid spread and extreme severity of the Black Death was partially due to the weakened immune system of the Europeans, which had been caused by the Great Famine, a period of food scarcity that affected Europe from 1315 to 1322. Additionally, the lack of knowledge about the spread of

As many know, the middle Ages were not a very pleasant time. There were many complications, for example, between 1347-1351 a brutal disease called The Black Plague or Yersinia Pestis swept through Europe, taking as many as 25 million- 50 million lives that’s about 1/3-2/3 of the population. The Black Plague was the most catastrophe disease in recorded history. The Black Plague affected individuals in three different forms, such as, The Bubonic, The Septicemic, and The Pneumonic; the furthermost common form was the Bubonic Plague.

The Bubonic Plague struck Italy and changed the people, their views on life and its purpose. Originating from the east, this disease was a killing machine for at that time medicine had not advanced to the stage that it has today. Almost a third of Europe’s population fell victim to the Plague. The Bubonic plague led to the death of many people, their family, after turning to god and religion for a while realised that prayer alone was of no help.

The Black Plague is known to be one of the most deadly pandemics in history, estimated to have killed 30-60% of Europe’s population in the series of outbreaks between the 14th and 18th centuries. The devastation of the plague was made much worse by the incomprehension of those affected by it. Y. Pestis, the bacteria which causes plague, was spread by infected hosts, including rats and fleas. However, the sparse knowledge of science and medicine led Europeans to blame other sources for the debilitating disease. Some believed the plague was the wrath of God, punishing the guilty for their sins.

The Church and many members believed the pandemic was a punishment from God, due to the immorality of the population. However, if this had been the case, then the aristocracy in the church shouldn’t have been affected, in that they were expected to be moral and in good standing with God. Ironically, in many instances, the aristocratic groups were much harder hit by the pandemic when compared to the public. One of the contributing factors of this was that the aristocracy, manly priests, had to perform last rites for the dead and dying, which put them in direct contact with the illness. At that time, individuals did not understand the nature of disease, so in their minds, God was also punishing the aristocracy for their sins.

Christians devoted themselves to the church, giving up every aspect of their life for God. People converted to Christianity because of the dark times; a religion made them feel safe in hopes of getting to a better place to escape their hard lives (Doc 10). During the medieval period, an epidemic called the Bubonic Plague killed one-third of Europe's population. The people were so unsanitary that is spread easily, but they blamed it on the Jews alleged revenge plans against them (Doc 6). Conditions in Europe during the 800’s were full of fear and unceasing terror.

The Christians thought the Lord was punishing them with the disease, and that when the Lord was enraged to embrace in acts of penance, so that you do not stray from the right path and parish. The Christians pray to their Lord and ask what they should do? A great number of saintly sisters of the Hotel Dieu, who did not fear to die, nursed the sick in all sweetness and humility, with no thought of honor, a number too often renewed by death, rest in peace with Christ, as we may piously believe. People began to think the Jews were guilty for the disease. The Muslims looked at praying for the disease to go away in disgust, because they believe the plague is a blessing from God.

Gods’ Hand in Devastation In the sixteenth century, a highly infectious disease known as the Black Plague, began to spread across the shores of Europe. The term the Black Plague was quickly recognized and feared by all Europeans. In just a short amount of time the disease had spread throughout the entire continent of Europe, killing roughly fifty percent of Europeans. Those who survived the disease were left wondering “why did this happen?”.

As they thought it was the Christians who caused this disease. Christine A. Smith said, “The despair caused by the plague within the city led the people to be indifferent to the laws of men and gods, and many cast themselves into self-indulgence.” However, there were some miracles happening. As we can imagine, people during that time tended to believe that the gods can save their lives, if they didn’t, it meant that they believed the wrong gods.

During the fourteenth century, life in Europe was structured around Christianity because it was the most common religion but also the foundation for governing the people. This caused the Jews to become a minority because Christianity had immersed into the culture. The Jewish customs separated the Jews from the Christians, and the intolerance and suspicion of these unfamiliar customs, and the unwillingness of Jews to convert to Christianity often led to fear and hatred from Christians. When the Great Plagues of the fourteenth century started in Europe, it only made the situation for Jews worse. During a hard time in society, humanity is fragile and answers are sought to how such a destructive force could so quickly destroy a whole population.