The 14th century is considered in medieval Europe a period of crisis. Increased violence, climate change, hunger and riots were elements that characterized this century. In addition to these factors, the main element for this crisis was the so-called Black Plague.
The disease and its contagion
The Black Death was one of the biggest epidemic outbreaks in human history. The disease was contracted from human contact with fleas infected by bacteria Yersiniapestis that were present in rats. The plague manifested itself in two ways:
The) bubonic plague: contracted by contact with infected fleas or rats, characterized by ganglia that accumulated black blood, mainly in the armpits.
B) pneumonic plague: it was contracted through the respiratory tract from contact with another infected person.
The last record of the disease in Europe was in the 6th century, but it has always been present in Central Asia and Africa|1|. The plague returned to Europe from 1348 and was brought by Genoese ships to various ports on the European continent. The Genoese colony of
coffee, located in Crimea, was surrounded by the Tatars, who used the infected corpses as a weapon. The corpses were thrown over the walls into the city, which caused the disease to spread.With the city surrounded and with the epidemic outbreak, many Genoese fled on their ships and ended up taking the disease to other cities in Europe, such as Constantinople, Messina, Genoa and Marseille. The ships had infected rats as well as the corpses of those who had died during the voyage.
Black Death Mortality
From the onset of these cities, the disease attacked Europe in a veritable outbreak. From 1348 to 1350, the disease acted fulminantly. Historian Jacques Le Goff states that “men and women contaminated by the bacillus were overthrown after a short incubation by an attack which, after 24 to 36 hours, led most of the time to death"|2|.
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The most affected places were those where the human agglomeration was greater, that is, the cities. Thus, many sought isolation, especially the rich, who had the means to shelter on their properties in rural areas, as portrayed by the Italian Giovanni Boccaccio in your work Decameron.
The reports speak of the difficulty of performing funerals due to the large number of deaths and the risk of contagion. The historian Hilário Franco Júnior also points out that the groups most attacked by the disease were gravediggers, doctors and priests |3| by the constant contact they had with the infected.
In this way, the disease ended the process of population growth that Europe had been experiencing since the tenth century. Statistics are often inaccurate, but historians say that at least a third of the population across Europe died as a result of the epidemic. Hilário Franco Júnior stated that Europe only recovered its pre-plague population rate in the 16th century, that is, 200 years later|4|.
Due to lack of knowledge, the European population saw the epidemic as a manifestation of willdivine for the sins committed. Thus, the disease led to the strengthening of manifestationsreligious. In addition, it also generated demonstrations of anti-Semitism, as many considered the Jews responsible for the outbreaks.
Finally, the plague caused greater care with cleaning, and many cities began to value hygiene as a way to prevent new outbreaks. Despite this, the disease was recurrent in Europe until the 18th century.
|1| LE GOFF, Jacques. Medieval roots of Europe. Petrópolis: Voices, 2011, p.227.
|2| Idem, p.227
|3| FRANCO JUNIOR, Hilary. Middle Ages, birth of the West. São Paulo: Brasiliense, 2006, p.30.
|4| Idem, p.31
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SILVA, Daniel Neves. "What was the Black Death?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/historia/o-que-foi-a-peste-negra.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
