The Bubonic Plague: The Black Death

The Bubonic Plague was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history and it resulted in millions of deaths all over the world. The outbreak began in the 1330s and traveled all the way from China to Europe. The plague, also commonly referred to as the Black Death, affected people of all ages and social classes, which is what made it so catastrophic. People understood that the disease was extremely contagious, but there was a variety of ideas on the cause of the illness and how it was spread. The ways in which civilians and government responded to the pandemic also varied across different regions. At the time of the outbreak, germ theory did not exist, and science was not as advanced as it is today. Therefore, different beliefs arose to make …show more content…
On the other hand, Italians used astrology to explain the plague by claiming the outbreak was caused by celestial bodies. One idea was that a solar eclipse that had previously happened was what had triggered the plague. Furthermore, there was a miasma theory that claimed that air that smelled bad was infecting people. Due to this theory, there was an ordinance in Pistoia that prevented the tanning of hides, “so that stench and putrefaction shall not be harmful to men,” (Pistoia Ordinances). Lastly, there was also the use of scapegoating, where Jews were accused of poisoning water in wells. “Jews were burnt all the way from the Mediterranean into Germany,” (Halsall). Overall, there was no unanimous belief in the cause of the plague, and there were many different approaches to try and stop the epidemic. The plague is characterized by bumps in the groin, neck, and armpits. According to The Decameron, the severity of the bumps varied as some tumors would grow, “as large as a common apple, [and] others as an egg,” (Boccaccio). In Florence, the tumors were referred to as bubus, hence the name bubonic …show more content…
Other governments were unable to establish order, and cities shut down, “only the apothecaries and the churches remained open,” Stefani said. Churches aimed to boost morale, so they stopped the use of bells to announce a death. Many priests bravely attended to the sick and administered last rites, even if it resulted in their own death. However, not all priests suffered, in fact, many benefitted from the visitations because they were paid a lot of money by rich families (Stefani). In essence, both governmental and religious authorities made efforts to provide a sense of security to their communities. The bubonic plague was a worldwide epidemic that ravaged continents in the fourteenth century. It was characterized by bumps in the body and rapid death. Sources from different civilizations were not uniform in all aspects, especially the causation of the plague. There was a variety of theories for the origin of the plague such as God's wrath, astrology, toxic air, and poisoned water. Personal anecdotes reveal that the plague was spread through direct and indirect contact. People and government reacted differently to the situation and responded based on their belief of the cause of the

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The Bubonic Plague And The Black Death

Bubonic Plague: The Black Death