The Black Death and Its Impact on EuropeBy Molly Corti 2 December 2015

1

The plague drastically reduced the population of Europe The decline in population led to many changes in the social, economic, and religious lives of the people in Europe.

2

Where did the plague originate?

3

The plague is believed to have begun in Central Asia in in the 1330s along the Silk Road that connects China and the Mediterranean

Europeans first came in contact with the disease at the siege of Caffa, a trading outpost located in the Crimean peninsula on the Black Sea

The plague arrives in Europe

In Europe, Sicily was the first area to be struck, in the year of 1347. The first documented case was in October when twelve Genoese ships arrived at the port in the city of Messina. (Kelly, John.)

The plague spread by sea and then by land through the rest of Europe

4

Geographical Spread5

How did it spread?

There have been disagreements about the actual source of the illness based on the speed of transmission, mortality rate, season of year, and symptoms (Theilmann, John and Cate, Frances.)

The most common theory is that the illness was caused by a bacterium, Yersinia pestis

6

Transmission of the Plague Bubonic Plague

Black Rat Rat Flea

7

Transmission of the Plague

Bubonic Plague Caused by bacteria and spread by rats

Pneumonic Plague Occurs when the bacteria infects a person’s

respiratory system Transmitted directly from person to person More deadly than bubonic plague

8

Mortality

The mortality rate of the Black Death was on average between 30 and 40 percent of the European population

At the time population is estimated to have numbered about 75 million people before the plague(Kelly, John)

9

Other factors that led to high mortality

the unsanitary conditions of European cities After centuries of population growth, mid -

fourteenth century Europe was overpopulated European weather had turned colder and rainy

resulting in series of poor harvests Natural disasters including earthquakes and tidal

waves had caused damage in many areas (Kelly, John)

10

Anti-Semitism contributed to population loss

Jews were accused of poisoning wells and springs with substances that caused the plague

The mass murder of Jews was one of the most disturbing psychological consequence of the plague

Many Jews were burned, impaled and otherwise tortured

In the city of Strasbourg, half of Jewish population was murdered

11

Medieval Beliefs and Responses

Many people believe the Plague had come because the people had made God mad and they were being punished.

Medical doctors were powerless and often criticized in the chronicles

explanations were based on astrology and fanciful notions derived from the medical texts of Ancient Greece

some people speculated that an unusual planetary alignment had poisoned the air

12

Responses to plague

The Flagellants were bands of religious belivers who hoped their actions would appease God and end the plague. They believed their processions and bloody whipping where directly authorized by God through a letter

Some people tried to avoid the sickness by hiding and not seeing other people

Other people believed that since the end of the world was coming they were free to eat, drink and be merry

13

Economic Changes

Need for certain professions: Grave diggers Doctors Priests

decrease in population also meant that more food was available per capita, and prices of grain eventually fell

Because many workers had died, Apprentices were accepted into guilds

Black death caused Europeans economy to diversify

14

Social Changes

The population of Europe was thought to be 75 million people before the black death

The black death was especially brutal to women and children because they spent more time inside (Kelly,120)

After the black death the standard of living improved because there was more food available

The black death led to many improvements in public health such as price as grain

15

Religious Changes

Confidence in the Church’s spiritual leadership weakened (Hearly, David)

Medieval Europeans thought that natural disaster was act of God- God was punishing them

Europeans came up with many prayers, begging for forgiveness so they could avoid the plague

People began to relate more closely to the saints – especially that represented the suffering and healing

Bishops allowed laypeople to hear confessions and administer sacraments to the sick and dying

16

Conclusion

The Black Death was a major event in history An illness decreased the population so dramatically that

many aspects of life changed Europeans feared that it may be the end of society and

they began to question their lives and search for answers

Meanwhile the loss of so many people impacted the economy as food became more available and the loss of workers made survivors more powerful

17

References

Aberth, John. The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350 : A Brief History with Documents. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005.

Cantor, Norman F. In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made. New York: Free Press, 2001.

Legislation and Attitudes Towards Labour in Late-Medieval Western Europe.” Economic History Review, 60 3 (2007) 457-485. JSTOR EBSCOhost (accessed September 17, 2015).

Cohn Jr, Samuel K. "The Black Death and the Burning of the Jews." Past & Present 196, no. 1 (August 2007): 3-36. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed September 17, 2015).

Cowie, Leonard. The Black Death and the Pesants’Revolt. London: Wayland Publishers, 1972. DeWitte, Sharon N. 2014. "Mortality Risk and Survival in the Aftermath of the Medieval Black

Death." Plos ONE 9, no. 5: 1-8. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed September 17, 2015).

Dyer, Christopher. Making a Living in the Middle Ages: The People of Britain 850-1520. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002.

Flatow, Ira. Interview with Hedrik Poinar. “DNA Detective Work Identifies Black Death Culprit”. NPR Radio, West Virginia Public Radio, September 2, 2011. Accessed at http://www.npr.org /2011/09/02/140146784/dna-detective-work-identifies-black-death-culprit

18

References Continued

Hatcher, John. A Black Death: A Personal History. Cambridge MA: De Capo Press, 2008.  

Herlihy, David, and Samuel Kline Cohn. The Black Death and the Transformation of the West. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1997.

Horrox, Rosemary. The Black Death. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1994.

Kelly, John. The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2005.

Porter, Stephen. "An historical whodunit." Biologist 51, no. 2 (Summer2004 2004): 109-113. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed September 21, 2015).

Wheelis, Mark. "Biological Warfare at the 1346 Siege of Caffa." Emerging Infectious Diease. September 1, 2002. Accessed September 24, 2015.

19