In the early Middle Ages, Europe was struggling to get back on its feet. The catholic church was the only tradition that survived the fall of Rome. The people were struggling to survive because law and order were being destroyed, the trading industry ended and education was no longer a priority in the people's eyes causing very few to be able to read and write. In Europe during the Middle Ages, there was no central government. The cities were ruled one of two ways: Some were ruled under the command of feudal lords while others evolved into strong self-governed cities. These council governments consisted of guildsmen and local nobility who worked together to uphold the laws of the land. The manor system was the backbone of the feudal system. The system allowed all the resources needed for the manor to be produced there. This helped the manors to be self-sufficient and not have to rely on other manors. The workers of the manor were also granted protection from their lord causing the peasants to have no reason to ever leave.
The most common theory for how the Black Death began is that it came from the fleas found on rats. The rats often lived on trading boats, making it easy to spread the disease from one place to another. However, many historical experts do not fully support this theory, and there is no reliable evidence that rats were the cause. The Black Death is responsible for the loss of 25 million European lives. Sixty to 80 percent of those infected by the plague died. The classic symptoms of the Black Death were black golf ball-sized lumps found in the lymph nodes in the neck and armpit. There were three variations of the plague: simple bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, and fatal septicemic plague. The pneumonic plague, an infection of the lungs, was the most common of the three plagues. The second-most common plague, septicemic plague, flooded the nervous system before creating pustules and causing bacillus to overpower the bloodstream. In addition to the Black Plague, the Middle Ages faced many other fatal diseases, such as smallpox, measles, tuberculosis, typhus, dysentery, and influenza. With the arrival of the Black Plague, death rates increased even more.
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The Plague affected the Middle Ages in many ways. Because of a lack of infrastructure, when the Black Death struck in Europe, councils, parishes, and local functionaries became responsible for fighting the plague. The manor system soon began to fall apart as the nobles and knights became infected. As authority figures succumbed to the plague, it became difficult to find replacements for those positions, and many workers soon began arguing for increased wages since fewer people were able to work. In addition to a decrease in the able-bodied population, and due to religious beliefs of the Middle Ages, moral laws were enforced to limit sinning in the communities as it was commonly believed that plague specifically targeted sinners. When religious leaders began to become infected with the plague, however, it raised questions and doubt within the church and its followers.
The Black Death left a mysterious legacy in world history. It also left the greatest mark on a continent in history. At the time of the plague, Europe was at its peak in population. When the plague struck, however, the population reached an all-time low. It took over 150 years after the epidemic for the population to fully recover. This caused the lowest fertility rates in history. Some positives came from this deadly epidemic. The Black Death helped researchers find cures for other harmful diseases and even led to better medical literature. The Black Plague also marked the end of the Middle Ages and the end of the feudal and manor system. Due to the many effects of the plague, it remains studied today.
There are many interesting facts about the Black Death. When researching the theory behind the fleas, experts realized that most fleas are not able to transfer a disease to humans. If a flea were to transmit the disease, the Xenopsylla cheopis, or rat flea, would be the most likely to do so. However, just because the plague is believed to have originated from rats and fleas, it does not mean that other animals were not capable of also spreading the Black Death to humans. Another interesting fact is that the children’s song 'Ring Around the Rosie' is based on the plague. 'Ring around the Rosie' referred to a common rash that would appear in a red circle when someone became infected with the plague, and 'pockets full of posies' referred to when people would carry different herbs and flowers in their pockets to protect them from the disease. The song also refers to the horrible sneezing and quick death in the line 'ashes, ashes, we all fall'.
The Black Death, also known as the plague, was a mysterious disease that took 100 million lives during the Middle Ages. In addition to many lives lost, the plague also put an end to not only the feudal and manor system but also the all-time high population rates in Europe and ended the Middle Ages itself. Interestingly, researchers still do not know the exact reason behind this destructive epidemic. The Black Death, however, did provide medical advances later. Due to the effects of the Black Death during and after the Middle Ages, it is still studied as a major part of world history today.
The Black Death is a disease that caused the most impact on a population for a continent ever. The contagious black bubbles and rashes caused people to question their religious beliefs, and the plague also changed how cities were run because it destroyed the feudal and manor system. The Black Death has given researchers many questions as to how it began and the way it spread. However, it also gave researchers cures for other harmful diseases. For these reasons and more, the Black Death remains present in World History.
Work Cited Page
- Lenz, Kristina, and Nils Hybel. “The Black Death.” Scandinavian Journal of History, vol. 41, no. 1, Feb. 2016, pp. 54–70. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/03468755.2015.1110533.
- McGovern, John F., and John Alan Ross. “Black Death in Europe.” Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2018. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=89453787&site=eds-live.
- Watts, Tim J. 'Black Death.' World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, ABC-CLIO, 2019, ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/594537. Accessed 1 Dec. 2019.
- Byrne, Joseph P. 'Civil Governments during the Black Death.' World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, ABC-CLIO, 2019, ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1758507. Accessed 1 Dec. 2019.
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