The Black Death
In 1348, the A disease that spread across Europe killing up to half of the population. arrived in England. Up to half of Europe鈥檚 population was killed by the Black Death.
What was the Black Death?
In 1348-1349, a An outbreak of a disease affecting many populations over a wide geographical area. swept across Europe. It later came to be called the Black Death. Historians believe the Black Death was probably two diseases, the bubonic and the pneumonic plagues:
- Bubonic plague caused large swellings called An inflamed swelling of a lymph node, especially in the armpit or groin. They are characteristic of certain infections, such as bubonic plague and syphilis. under the armpits, on the neck and in the groin. Bubonic plague was spread by rats, who dwelled in medieval towns and had fleas living on them. Fleas living on an infected black rat then jumped onto humans and bit them, spreading bubonic plague. It is believed that the Black Death was brought to England by rats that travelled to England on ships from China.
- Pneumonic plague was spread through coughs and sneezing. The The death rate as a result of a particular cause. of pneumonic plague was almost 100 per cent.
Beliefs about causes
In medieval Britain, people did not know about germs. This meant that they came up with a range of ideas about the possible causes of the Black Death:
- Smells from decomposing material, such as animal and human waste, that were thought to cause disease. was believed to be a cause. This was the theory that bad air spread disease.
- Some people thought an imbalance in the Four bodily fluids 鈥 yellow bile, black bile, blood and phlegm 鈥 used in ancient times to analyse and describe people's state of health. was the cause. This idea was based on the work of A Roman doctor who lived from AD129 to approximately AD203. He revived Hippocrates' ideas and encouraged bloodletting as a treatment, after learning about anatomy from treating injured gladiators.
- Some people believed that In a historical context, this was thought to be a kind of magic that could be used to cause harm to people or property. Witches were often accused of obtaining their power from the Devil. was a cause.
- People were very religious and thought the disease could be a punishment from God.
Prevention and cures
People tried various ways of preventing and curing the Black Death:
- A person who would whip themself to show God they were sorry for their sins. Sometimes, people asked flagellants to whip them to demonstrate that they were sorry for their sins. whipped themselves, believing this would show God they were punishing themselves for their sins.
- People would pray for others who were ill, hoping God would cure them.
- Doctors would try to balance the four humours, so The process of bleeding a patient, either by using leeches or by cutting into a vein. was a common treatment.
- Miasma theory led people to carry herbs or flower petals, so they could avoid the smell of the streets.
- A person who practises medicine. used a range of herbal remedies to try to treat people.
Consequences
The Black Death had a devastating impact. Up to half of the population of Europe was killed. The focus of medicine was finding effective cures and treatments for the disease. However, when the plague broke out again in 1665, similar ideas were used to deal with it. Therefore, we can see that there was no greater understanding of the cause of disease than there had been more than 300 years earlier, in 1348-1349.