FREE ESSAY ON BUBONIC PLAGUE

BUBONIC PLAGUE

Cantor states that, 
No one - peasant or aristocrat - was safe from the disease [bubonic plague], and once it
was contracted, a horrible and painful death was almost a certainty. The dead and the
dying lay in the streets abandoned by frightened friends and relatives (482).
This certainly paints an accurate and horrifying picture of the fourteenth century during
the plague. The bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death or The Plague, (Hindley
103) was one of the major scourges of the Middle Ages. It killed indiscriminately without
remorse or thought of consequences. Because the plague was so widespread, theories about
causes, blame and a variety of supposed cures abounded. Most of these were without basis
or fact and relied on myths and rumors. Theories for the causes and blames came from
ignorance and hate, two horrible things married by fear. Some of the cures were not much
better than the plague itself.
The plague was transmitted to humans by fleas from infected rats that nested in people's
roofs (Matthew 154). Fourteenth century man had no concept of how the disease was spread
or how it could be stopped. The plague was transmitted to western Europe from China along
trade routes (Matthew 154). Once the plague had reached the coast of Europe, it was soon
transmitted to the countryside through the commercial trade networks (Matthew 154). The
first cases of the plague occurred in a European colony called Genoa (Blum, Cameron and
Barnes 38). It was besieged in 1347 by mongols, who flung plague riddled bodies over the
walls of Genoa. This was considered an early form of biological warfare (Blum, Cameron
and Barnes 38). According to Matthews, Experts could do nothing to cure or explain the
plague (154). The people of this period had no idea what they were dealing with. Even if
they had known what caused the plague, their medical technology was almost nonexistent,
so they could not have invented a cure (Matthew 154). Though the doctors of the time were
unable to cure the disease, or even explain it, they did observe its symptoms and try to
supply theories of the plague's cause (Matthew 154-5). People were aware that if you came
in contact with the sick or their belongings (clothing, bedding, etc...) you would soon
be afflicted with the disease (Herlihy 353). Medieval man also knew that animals could
catch the disease from a person's material possessions (Herlihy 353) but they never
realized they could catch the plague from animals. There were three main theories about
why the plague had stricken an area. The first is a corrupted atmosphere or bad air, the
second was the alignment of the planets, and the third the wrath of God (Ziegler 3). Some
people said there were clouds that carried the plague (Ziegler 3-4). Others believed that
it was a cloud made from steam that had risen from dead fish (Ziegler 4). Some believed
that the placement of the planets was the cause of the plague (Ziegler 25). The medical
department at the University of Paris told Phillip VI in a report in 1348, that the
alignment of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars on March 20, 1345 was the cause of the plague
(Ziegler 25). A popular theory was that the plague was the wrath of God. This was
supposedly brought on by sins (Bartel 62). Some sins were worse than others such as lust,
pride, whoredom (Bartel 62). There were also other theories. The Scottish people thought
that the English were being punished for the terrible things they had done to the Scots
in the past. So the Scots invaded England while it was weak, laughing at their enemies,
until they, too, fell prey to the disease (Ziegler 159). The Jewish people were also
blamed for the spread of the disease. Thousands of Jews were murdered as scapegoats
(Ziegler 80). 
Many supposed cures arose in response to the plague. Some believed that if they lived
moderately, consumed the most delicate foods and wines, and abstained from sex, that
their resistance to the plague would be higher (Herlihy 354). There were others that
believed the exact opposite. They believed in heavy drinking, and lots of cheer and
singing (Herlihy 354) to keep them safe. Still others chose to live their lives at an
even keel, not too moderate, not too heavy (Herlihy 354). In Rowlings' Everyday Life of
Medieval travellers, she states that Flight became increasingly one of the commonest
means adopted to escape from this dreaded disease (118). People also believed that if you
burned fires, with stinkpots filled with various herbs and other natural ingredients,
that it would correct the infectious air (Bartel 53). Perfumes made from roots and oils
was another popular cure that individuals used to clean the air (Bartel 54). According to
Bartel, an internal cure was to take garlic with, butter, a clove, two or three,
according as it shall agree with their bodies (54). Some doctors believed that pure water
mixed with a great deal of salt was a cure (Bartel 55). Royalty got into the cure game
with the King's Majesty's Excellent Receipt for the Plague and a drink for the plague
prepared by Lord Bacon, and approved by Queen Elizabeth (Bartel 55). There were others
called flagellants that walked the roads whipping themselves to ward off the plague
(Wright 153). The reality according to Herlihy was that, In the cure of these illnesses,
neither the advice of a doctor nor the power of any medicine appeared to help and to do
any good (353). 
The Black Death killed about a third of Europe's population. The reign of terror lasted
for twenty years in the fourteenth century (Cantor 477). This horrible disease killed
young and old, rich and poor. The plague knew no boundaries. Today we might think that
the beliefs of the fourteenth century were barbaric and archaic, but it has only been in
the last one hundred years that scientists and doctors have discovered the cause of the
bubonic plague. Believing that the plague was caused by bad air, the planets positions or
the Jews or that it could be cured with fire or herbs seemed logical to fourteenth
century man although it may seem foolish to modern man.
Works Cited
Bartel, Roland, ed. London in Plague and Fire. BostonD.C. Heath and Company, 1957.
Blum, Jerome, Cameron, Rondo, and Barnes, Thomas G. The European World A History.
BostonLittle, Brown and Company, 1970.
Cantor, Norman. The Civilization of the Middle Ages. New York HarperCollins Publishers,
1993.
Herlihy, David, ed. Medieval Culture and Society. New York Walker and Company, 1968.
Hindley, Geoffrey. The Medieval Establishment. New YorkG.P. Putnam's Sons, 1970.
Matthew, Donald. Atlas of Medieval Europe. New YorkFacts on File, Inc., 1983.
Rowling, Marjorie. Everyday Life of Medieval Travellers. LondonB.T. Batsford LTD, 1971.
Wright, Esmond, ed. The Medieval and Renaissance World. Secaucus, NJChartwell Books Inc.,
1979.
Ziegler, Phillip. The Black Death. Wolfeboro Falls, N.H.Alan Sutton Publishing, 1991.