The Black Plague

The Black Plague

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The Black Plague

The twelfth and thirteenth centuries were the high point of medieval civilization . In the fourteenth century , medieval civilization underwent great upheavals . Economic distress , a decreasing population , devastating warfare , and a weakening of the power of the Church were signs of these difficult times . They were also signs that the medieval period was coming to an end . In the Middle Ages , Western Europe was burdened with economic problems . There were periods of famine , and starvation

was a frequent threat (Cantor , 2001

The greatest blow to fourteenth-century Europe was the bubonic plague perhaps the worst natural disaster in human history . Known as the Black Death , the bubonic plague was carried by the fleas on rats . Perhaps twenty million people , between a third and a half of the European population , died from the plague . In 1348 , it began to spread throughout Europe with incredible speed (Cantor , 2001

In that same year , the juvenile daughter of King Edward III , Princess Joan , came to the seaport on the road to Spain . The trip was anchored in the preparatory phase for tying the knot with the heir to the throne of Castile , Prince Pedro . Needless to say , the union , was far more significant to international dealings than to those of the familial brand (Davis , 2004

Due to international commerce itself and human movement , the outbreak extended to England . In the British empire , the commerce , culture and society we discern through the eyes of landlords , clergymen , peasants and majestic members of the society (Davis , 2004

The terrified survivors were seized by mass hysteria . Believing the plague to be a punishment from God , some people wandered from place to place beating themselves and each other with sticks and whips (Smith 2001 . Others turned to magic and witchcraft . Frightened mobs slaughtered Jews in the belief that they had caused the plague (Friedman , 2005

The millions of deaths among farm workers and artisans left farmlands and workshops idle . Fewer crops and goods were produced , and both wages and prices rose . Badly in need of money , nobles demanded more taxes from peasants . In 1381 , John Ball and Wat Tyler led English peasants in a revolt against new taxes . The peasants ' revolt in England , like similar revolts in France and Flanders , was put down by the king 's soldiers (Duiker and Spielvogel , 2004

Social unrest occurred in the towns as well as the countryside . The wage earners of Florence , the weavers of Ghent in Flanders , and the poor of Paris rose up against the upper class in those cities . Like the peasant uprisings , the rebellions of the urban poor were put down by force (Stoessinger , 2002

In the High Middle Ages , the European economy prospered , and governments provided greater and stability . The period was also marked by growing religious vitality . There was a call for greater spiritual devotion among the clergy . Popes sought to prevent lords and kings from interfering with Church affairs they also tried to...