Black Death

The anglictina/black-death/" class="wiki-link" title="Viac o: black death">Black Death was one of the worst environment-natural-disasters/" class="wiki-link" title="Viac o: natural disasters">natural disasters in history. Between 1347 and 1351A.D., a great plague swept over Europe and ravaged cities causing widespread hysteria and death. It took more lifes than any other known epidemic before. One third of the population of Europe died. The primary culprits in transmitting this disease were Oriental Rat Fleas carried on the back of black rats.

How was the Black Death transmitted? The three forms of the Black Death were transmitted two ways. The septicemic and bubonic plague were transmitted with direct contact with a flea, while the pneumonic plague was transmitted through airborne droplets of saliva coughed up by bubonic or septicemic infected humans.

The Path Originating in China and Inner Asia, the plague was transmitted to Europeans in 1347 when a Kipchak army, besieging Genoese, catapulted plague-infested corpses into the town. The disease spread from the Mediterranean ports, affecting Sicily (1347), North Africa, Italy, Spain, England and France (48), Austria, Hungary, Switzerland and Germany (49) and Scandinavia and the Baltic lands (50).

If the plague had just stayed in cantenbury-the-city/" class="wiki-link" title="Viac o: the city">the city, the containment might have spared Europe. Ufortunately, the plague spread when people fled to other cities.

Health and medicine in the middle ages:

It took scientists hundreds of years to understand the Black Death. So it is not surprising that People in Middle Ages were confused by Black Death.They knew nothing about germs and the link between dirt and disease. In fact, in big households it was usually the lady of the house to know how to make traditional medicines from plants and how to treat wounds. Monks and nuns often acted as doctors in their area and sometimes run hospital in the monastery. A few people actually studied to be professional doctors, often in Italy where the best medical schools were. It didn't help that the Church dindn't allow dead bodies to be opened up, so no one really knew how human body">the human body worked.

The effects of the Black Death:

Between 1347 and 1351 A.D. one-third of Europe's population died. The population in England in 1400 was perhaps half what it had been 100 years earlier. In this country, Black Death caused depopulation and total disappearence of about 1 000 villages. Because of the lack of evidece, it is difficult to know precisely, how many people died. But a rough estimate is that 25 000 000 people in Europe died from plague during the Black Death. The population of western Europe didn't again reach its pre-1348 level until the begining of the 16th century. Large cemeteries were quickly filled and fresh burial grounds had to be found.

Church One of the groups that suffered the most was the Christian church.

It lost prestige, spiritual authority, and leadership over slovakia-the-people/" class="wiki-link" title="Viac o: the people">the people. How? The church promised cures, treatment, and an explanation for the plague. They said it was God's will, but the reason for this awful punishment was unknown. People wanted answers, but the priests and bishops didn't have any. People prayed to God and begged for forgiveness. After the plague, ended angry and frustrated villagers started to revolt against the church. The survivors were also enraged at doctors, who didn't cure patients, but said they could.

People's attitudes towards music and art changed as they began to see the depression surrounding them. The horrific nature of the Black Death was reflected in the realistic depictions of human suffering and carnage as well as the symbolic use of the skeleton.