The Key Causes Of The Black Death In Medieval Europe

The Black Death was one of the largest epidemics the world had ever seen, having wiped out mass amounts of people the plague came to completely shift European medieval society into the modern era. The black death showed no regard as to who it affected, it affected rich and poor, man, women and children all the same. The plague was so widespread among Europe that death was increasingly frequent. Such an epidemic caused people to have a completely new idea of life and death. In this essay I intend to argue that the key components of medieval society’s outlook on life and death are how death affected the living, through the ways people coped the mass amounts of loss. The various interpretations of the cause were a way for society to†¦show more content†¦They believed the outbreak to be merited because of the evils that occurred not only because of them but also their forebears. This belief led some to live their lives in piety, trying to atone for their sins. Thus affec ting the way they viewed death because of the plague and resulting in a change of the way they lived their lives. An archetype of this opinion was seen in the flagellants, a radical religious group during the plague. They believed that in order to take away the plague they would have to appease God. In the hopes to achieve this atonement this group would conduct sessions of penance in which they would whip themselves to the point of bloodshed. This point illustrates how the sheer quantity of death due to this epidemic was so abnormal that people perceived this to be the end of times and took to extremes to try to stall this impending apocalypse. The spread of the plague was understood by people in terms of its transmission through air and through contact with the ill. During the course of the Black Death it was well known that those who came into contact with those stricken with the illness soon became the likeness. This posed a problem for those within the same household, if one b ecame afflicted, all were taken with the same form of the disease. As advised by medieval physicians the most effective way of avoiding the plague was to flee the affectedShow MoreRelatedThe Black Death Of India And The Peasant s Revolt1688 Words   |  7 Pagesreport will examine the causes and affects of the Black Death in India and the Peasant’s Revolt in England, during the medieval period lasting from the 5th century to the 15th century (500-1500s). Throughout the report, information will include significant individuals involved or affected by the event, a significant occurrence during each event, and finally the interconnections that can be established between the Peasant’s Revolt and Black Death. 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