The Black Death

A Bubonic Plague

What is the Black Death?During 1348 to 1350 Medieval England was attacked by an epidemic. This epidemic was called the Black Death which is also known as the black plague . It was given the name to refer to a disease called bubonic plague.

This plague had attacked before but never this bad

What is the Bubonic Plague ?The Bubonic plague is referred to the disease's most common form, which was the one that formed outside the skin and had lumps and turned black. They are painfully swollen lymph nodes that appear around the groin, armpit, or neck.

How did it spread to England?

Carried from India on flea-infested rats riding on great sailing ships of the new international trade.

Why or How it spread so fast?

Since towns and cities were so close together and over populated it was easy to pass the disease.

If one person in your family caught the disease, everyone else would.

The bubonic actually became pneumonic (lungs) and you would suffer chest pains because it was mainly in your lungs so it became airborne.

Then it also became septicemic (bloodstreams) which it would go through one’s blood stream and they died before they knew they even had the disease.

Before the plague England was in a Feudalism system it was

based on the division of land by the king to nobles and vassals in return for their military service. Land was the main source of the economy and was dependent on the peasants who worked on the land. Many European towns used the feudal system as a way of keeping the underclass citizens in line and keeping the wealthy citizens wealthy.

The Church also had a lot of power on many of the King’s decisions.

King & Queen

PeasantsVilleins

Serfs

Barons Abbots Knights Bishops Abbots

What the Plague did to the Feudalism?

The Black Death hit Europe so hard and unexpectedly, there were huge casualties on both sides of the social ladder!

The Black Death hit even worse for the peasants so peasants were unavailable to work the land of the wealthy land owners like the wealthy was use to.

This resulted in the feudal system no longer being the most feasible option.

The end of feudalism allowed the peasants to be able to own their own land, giving them more social standing.

Before the PlagueBefore the Black Death, European's were very loyal to the church.

With the arrival of the Black Death European began to see that perhaps the church was not as almighty as they had once thought it to be. Why couldn’t they stop all this dying! Especially because it didn’t just get the lower class but the wealthy too! This led to a decline in the church's authority which had been the main authority to the King for European citizens.

The people of Europe were desperately looking for a reason as to why this plague had been brought upon them. So for the Church to gain power they started the “Blame game.” Which refers to God’s curse so let’s blame the “Socially indigestible people”

The rise of hated for “different” people mostly because of reification of Christian doctrine.

What did not knowing where the Black Plague

originate do to the people? The King, Church and people started blaming the “Socially indigestible people” which included:•Jews – They were accused of poisoning the wells as well as why the Black Plague happen. Jews had to wear yellow stars and other distinctive clothing. When found “guilty” they were herded into wooden building and torched or left to suffocate or starve. Estimation of 90% of Jews were massacred their wealth if any confiscated by Christians•Muslims- Muslims were expelled in growing numbers.•Lepers- Lepers in order by King Philip were burned to death•Disabled- were accused of witchcraft and burned•Homosexuals- who used to be widely accepted were now condemned by the Church. Grouping them with arsonists, sorcerers and Jews as criminal deserving execution. •Women- Witchcraze (will talk about more in depth)Most massacres were gone with the plague ending by 1351 EXCEPT for women. The survivors usurped the resources of the dead and became nouveau riche, meaning the poor weren’t that poor because they gain riches of the dead.

Witch Craze

What was the Witch Craze?Because of the Black Plague women were vulnerable to charges of witchcraft and their treatment as witches became horrifying over the next 300 years hundreds of thousands of women were accused of witchcraft and killed. Then as the witchcraze rose women of every age, status and class! Women who were healers, midwives or any women who worked on healing tricks were metamorphosed into witchcraft. Women who were poor or there child died at infant. Beggar women who asked for food or shelter and also prostitutes trying to survive.

Accused women were stripped, raped and tortured before trails.During some of the trails most were tortured to confess and most confessed to avoid the pain. Women were found guilty and burned before their children’s eyes and sometimes they would throw in the children as well for example for the rest.

A few men where also tried as sorcery but the numbers didn’t compare to women.

A papal bull (church document by the Pope) Innocent VIII put the Inquisition in charge of witch hunting. They came up with New and Creative test to try the witches like if in these test they died they were innocent, but if they survived their were witches and had to be burned in the cleansing fire to save their souls. Some women even started to commit suicide rather then undergo the Inquisition. At the end about 9 million were estimated to be killed.Some towns were actually completely depopulated.

The Results from the Plague were?

The Black Plague was a terrible epidemic that killed millions! The Black Plague did cause the European citizens to make changes that otherwise could have taken centuries to make like the end of the feudalism system. It gave the underclass citizens the opportunity to gain more social standing which might or might not have happened. It also changed the focus of the artwork and literature of the time towards death, which ended up paving the way for the enlightening events in the Italian Renaissance. It also changed the way that European citizens viewed religion taking away a large amount of the power the church held over the people. So while the devastation the Black Death brought will forever be remembered throughout history, so will the changes it brought with it.

Cited WorkAnnenberg, A. (2010, May 15). Medieval Life - Feudalism. History on the Net Main Page. Retrieved October 20, 2012,

from http://www.historyonthenet.com/Medieval_Life/feudalism.htm

Day, P. J. (2009). A new history of social welfare. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Roark, J. L. (2007). The American promise: a compact history (3rd ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

The Black Death: Cultural Influence. (n.d.). The Black Death. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://smsthebubonicplauge1.blogspot.com/p/global-power.html

Pictures usedWomen burning: SOLID.LIFE.CHOICES. - History repeating itself.. (n.d.). SOLID.LIFE.CHOICES. . Retrieved October 22,

2012, from http://solidlifechoices.tumblr.com/post/10000956249/history-repeating-itself Affected by the plague first slide: The Black Death: Cultural Influence. (n.d.). The Black Death. Retrieved October 22,

2012, from http://smsthebubonicplauge1.blogspot.com/p/global-power.html Rat and ship pictures: Researchers in Britain Have Determined The Genetic Sequence of BubonicPlague Marilyn Chase /

Wall Street Journal 4oct01. (n.d.). Mindfully.org | Mindfully Green. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://www.mindfully.org/GE/GE3/Bubonic-Plague-Sequenced.htm

Sick people in bed: hundredskilled. (n.d.). Top 10 Worst Plagues In History. Top 10 Lists - Listverse. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from http://listverse.com/2009/01/18/top-10-worst-plagues-in-history/