The Black Plague

The Black Plague

Killing one-third of the population in Europe, the black plague was unexpected and the cause was unknown. There were many different point of views on the matter.

Physicians and nurses had many different points of views on the causes and cures of the plague. (2, 4, 6, 10). Filippo, a physicain of Palermo, tells us that people used the gallows to punish people who violated the health regulations. (6). Many, like Filippo, believed the plague was caused by dirtiness. (2). Another physician, H de Rochas came up with a theory of hanging toads around peoples necks. (10). He was obviously wrong, toads cannot suck a disease out of a person. The doctors did not have answers, therefore they came up with silly reasons and theories about the plague.

Many people clung to the ideas of the doctors, but others had their own religious views on the plague. (7, 9, 15). People were so crazy looking for answers that they believed when one ate the bread that touched a saint, it would cure the fever. A housewife is who tells us this, saying she fed the bread to her husband. Her husband may not have had the plague, maybe just a fever. She is strong in her faith as well, so she may be trying to make St. Dominica look good by lying. (7). Other religious people believed they were being punished by an "angry god" for all of their sins. (15). People who thought their religious beliefs were the cause or cure of the plague were wrong. I would like to see a document from a person with no religious beliefs or an anti-religious person. Seeing a document like this could help compare the differences in their opinions.

No one knew who would die next so people were very scared. Fear was a major result of the black plague. (1, 3, 5, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14). Many people were scared for the lives of their families and themselves. Nehemiah Wallington fears who the plague will take from his family. (8). His point of view is just focused on himself and how scared he is. The rich fled, leaving behind their things for fear the plague would infect everything, therefore most who died were poor. (3). Students were scared to return to their schools as well. The schoolmaster at Deventer, Netherlands writes that twenty boys were killed. (1). He is a reliable source because he is the schoolmaster and he's stating the facts. Nurses would even try to find ways to make their patients die more quickly so they could get their money and leave. (11). I would like to see a document from a child who's parents perished in the plague. I assume he/she would be very scared and I'd like to see how he/she handled it.

Europe was infected by a plague between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries that killed one-third of the population. Many people were scared, they feared losing their lives and families. The doctors weren't as properly educated as they are now and looked for other things to blame.