The Black Plague And Its Impact On Society In Medieval Europe

The Black Death caused many positive and negative changes in medieval society. Since the Black Death caused such a vast amount of humans to die in a short period, there was a large surplus of food however a shortage of peasants to work the land. This labour shortage meant that serfs were no longer tied to the land and could leave to find higher wages, as said in Chronicle of the Black Death 'such a shortage of workers... scarcely be persuaded to serve the eminent unless for triple wages'. Secondly, because of the upwards mobility and lack of structure that came from the Black Death and the fact that serfs could ask for more pay, feudalism became a lot less prominent in many places and was eventually replaced with other systems, such as capitalism.

This disease also brought about changes for the people in the affected areas. The Black Death caused large changes in the population of Europe during the Middle Ages. In the article Depopulation, Rebellion and Social Progress it states, “It has been roughly estimated that a third of England died from the Black Death of 1348-49, and perhaps this figure in not far from the losses suffered in other areas of Europe…” The number of losses suffered in this time makes the Black

The plague raged throughout Europe from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century evoking various responses from the people who experienced its terror. It affected all regions of Europe, killing one-third of the population. Various responses to the plague expressed different beliefs and concerns including exploitation, fear, and religious superstition. During the course of the plague these beliefs and concerns underwent change. During the outbreak of the plague fear dominated Europe, and as time passed fear became more irrational and superstitious.

The Black Death, also known as the Plague, was caused by an epidemic of the bacterium called “Yersinia Pestis”. The pandemic struck Europe in the late-1340s and wiped out nearly a third of Europe’s population. However, this tragedy also transformed European society positively because it created an opportunity for economic benefits and the growth of Humanism. According to the scholars, “the Black Death first took place in Mongolia in the late 1320s and spread to China and other parts of the Asia.

The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague, was one of if not most significant plagues of all time. The illness took an enormous toll on multiple continents, infecting the rich, the poor, and everyone in between. Europe, in particular, sustained a loss of up to one-third of its population (DeSantis, 2015). The outbreak was spread by parasites, which caused complications for both lifestyle, economy, and commerce throughout Europe.

With so many luxuries becoming easily obtainable, healthier lifestyles were much more common. For example, “people started to consume more food of higher quality” (Miles). And after the cause of the plague was found to be preventable with something as simple as good hygiene, Europeans realized that cleanliness and hygiene were also important to maintain. The plague also lead to the Church losing a lot of its power. The black death was an extremely terrifying event for European citizens.

“The Greatest Mortality” Life throughout the Middle Ages was incredibly difficult due to over population, famine, lower standards of living, disease and illness due to lack of proper hygienic upkeep. Some of these societal conditions contributed to far greater crisis. In fact, Europe experienced one of the greatest crisis or pandemics known to man, the Black Death. The Black Death has also been referred to as “The Plague”, “The Greatest Biomedical Disaster in History”, and “The Greatest Catastrophe Ever”. The Black Death was a crisis that significantly impacted the late Middle Ages and brought about one of the most prosperous period, known as the Renaissance.

The Black Death was a deadly disease that wiped out almost half of Europe’s population during the 14th century. Also known as the bubonic plague, the sickness emerged from the bacteria yersinia pestis that was carried by fleas on rats and was brought to Europe by merchant ships. It swept through Europe and racked up an immense number of fatalities, anywhere from 20 to 50 million. The Black Death significantly impacted Europe and caused major cultural, economic, religious, and social changes. Because the Black Death killed millions of people, it greatly affected the economy by creating labor shortages, changes in social structure, and extensive inflation Due to the death toll of the Black Death, labor shortages greatly impacted Europe.

The plague was a disease that was spread by fleas carried by rats. The plague had not only broken out in Europe but also in Asia. The epidemic spread quickly because the fleas infested clothing and the packs of traders traveling west. During this time rats infested ships, towns, and even homes of the upper-class people.

This downfall of society caused immense damage to the economy. As the population began to decline due to the deaths of all these people, there was a lack of farmers to plow fields, harvest crops, and produce other goods and services. This in turn affected the relationship of lords and peasants because the working peasants became more useful and in high demand; after learning this the peasants began asking for higher pay to work. This is how Europe was so affected by this plague, not only by death and disease, but in more questionably moral and economic aspects of

During the Middle Ages, there were many events that impacted the development of society, such as the Crusades, the Hundred Years’ War, and the Black Death. Some of these events impacted the society in a negative way and others, in a positive way. The Black Death, specifically, was a contagious disease that traveled through Europe, Eurasia and North Africa through trade routes and on its way, killed 30 to 50% of the European population in a span of five years . This epidemic impacted the European society positively in the long term with women’s rights, even if it led to some negative short-term problems such as a loss of labour and inflation, and a loss of faith in the Church, which later turned into positive long-term changes.

The Black Death, the most severe epidemic in human history, ravaged Europe from 1347-1351. This plague killed entire families at a time and destroyed at least 1,000 villages. Greatly contributing to the Crisis of the Fourteenth Century, the Black Death had many effects beyond its immediate symptoms. Not only did the Black Death take a devastating toll on human life, but it also played a major role in shaping European life in the years following. In this essay it finds that the Black Death epidemic lead to the collapse of the family structure in Italy particularly with children succumbing to the disease, gender inequality with women, and a misunderstanding of the biology of the disease.

The Black Death The Black Death, also known as the pestilence or the plague, arrived in 1347 and spread throughout (name the continents and countries) for 14 years. The most immediate short-term effect of the plague was the decline in population. Between thirty and fifty per cent of the population died in the years between 1347 and 1351. In the long term changes also took place on a social, political and economic level.

The reactions from the Christians and the Muslims to the greatly feared disease, known as the Black Death or the Great Plague were different in several ways. The first Plague was documented from 541 to 544 CE. Known as the Plague of Justinian. The Plague came in three different ways: bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. With bubonic being the most common.

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.