Black Death: Difference between revisions
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The '''Black Death''' was a plague that hit [[Europe]] and other countries several times during the [[medieval]] [[period]]. At one point, the black death reduced the population of eastern Europe by half its previous level. |
The '''Black Death''' was a plague that hit [[Europe]] and other countries several times during the [[medieval]] [[period]]. At one point, the black death reduced the population of eastern Europe by half its previous level. |
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The most commonly-accepted modern notion is that the black death was a version of bubonic plague, although some academics have recently proposed that the Black Death may have actually been a form of anthrax or an ebola virus variant. Regardless of which virus caused the Black Death, the symptoms were always the same: the formation of painful ''buboes'' (swollen ''lymph nodes'') in the armspits and groin, which was the chief method of diagnosis, and a very fast decline in strength and stamina followed by a fatal crash. After [[death]], the bodies of the dead would darken and turn almost entirely brownish-black, which gave the plague its popular name. |
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The most commonly-accepted modern notion is that the black death was a version of bubonic plague (though I've heard there is some controversy about this, and theories that there were multiple illnesses involved). |
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The two main characteristics of the plague were the way a body turned black after death (not sure why) which gave the sickness its name, and the buboes (or swollen lymph nodes), the most easily noticeable ones being those near the armpits, which was the chief method of diagnosis. |
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The real reasons for the rapid spread of the plague more likely included the overcrowding of urban areas, (populations had grown considerably before the onset of the plague), poor sanitation, widespread infestations of vermin such as [[rat]]s and [[flea]]s (the bubonic plague theory suggests that rats carrying the plague also carried fleas, which were the transmission vector to humans), and, possibly, the superstitious notion that [[cat]]s were evil (thus allowing the rat-populations to flourish in the first place). |
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* Jews poisoning the wells. |
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* God punishing man. |
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While the real reasons include: |
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* Overcrowding of cities (populations were booming) |
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* Poor sanitation (what had been acceptable for small populations didn't scale up to the new cities) |
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* [[Flea]]s carrying the [[virus]] from host to host (mainly from the rat infestations which flourished in the overcrowded, polluted cities...) |
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* Superstitious notions that [[cat]]s were evil (thus allowing the rat-populations to flourish in the first place) |
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The Black Death was devastating to the [[feudal]] system of western Europe. So many died that the stable, established feudal heirarchy effectively ceased to function. In the wake of the Black Death social and geographic mobility reached unprecedented levels, and sowed the seeds for the start of the [[Rennaissance]]. |
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The plague was generally spread by fleas from ill/dying rats - if the rats were killed, it just meant more fleas looking for new hosts (ie humans). The only way to control the problem was to not allow the rat population to grow in the first place - which meant sanitation = better city-planning. |
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Revision as of 01:31, 24 April 2006
The Black Death was a plague that hit Europe and other countries several times during the medieval period. At one point, the black death reduced the population of eastern Europe by half its previous level.
The most commonly-accepted modern notion is that the black death was a version of bubonic plague, although some academics have recently proposed that the Black Death may have actually been a form of anthrax or an ebola virus variant. Regardless of which virus caused the Black Death, the symptoms were always the same: the formation of painful buboes (swollen lymph nodes) in the armspits and groin, which was the chief method of diagnosis, and a very fast decline in strength and stamina followed by a fatal crash. After death, the bodies of the dead would darken and turn almost entirely brownish-black, which gave the plague its popular name.
Several possible reasons for the spread of the plague were suggested in period, including Jews poisoning the wells, and God punishing mankind.
The real reasons for the rapid spread of the plague more likely included the overcrowding of urban areas, (populations had grown considerably before the onset of the plague), poor sanitation, widespread infestations of vermin such as rats and fleas (the bubonic plague theory suggests that rats carrying the plague also carried fleas, which were the transmission vector to humans), and, possibly, the superstitious notion that cats were evil (thus allowing the rat-populations to flourish in the first place).
The European countryside is dotted with plague-pits (mass-graves) from the many people that died of this horrible disease. Entire towns were wiped out as, once infected, the people had no effective remedy and were doomed to a swift end.
The Black Death was devastating to the feudal system of western Europe. So many died that the stable, established feudal heirarchy effectively ceased to function. In the wake of the Black Death social and geographic mobility reached unprecedented levels, and sowed the seeds for the start of the Rennaissance.
