The tragedy of The Black Death affected the Christian and Muslim cultures equally in the fourteenth century. However, these two groups responded to the situation in very different ways. This difference can be a window of insight into their core religious beliefs. By looking at what the Christians and Muslims thought the causes of the Black Death were, the differences in the Christian and Muslim response to the plague, and the similarities of how the two groups reacted, Muslims and Christians responded in very different ways because of their thoughts and actions to the plague that ended the lives of many.
The plague was a disease that devastated Europe and the Christian population. Christians handled the plague very differently than the other
…show more content…
The Muslims also believed that God sent the plague, however they believed the plague was a blessing. Everywhere they went they were mostly found carrying their Holy books. Muslims tried to prevent the plague by staying indoors, avoided sad talk, and consumed sour juices.(Doc F.) The Muslims did not blame or persecute the Jews for the cause of the plague. The Muslims even invited the Jews to pray peacefully with them.
Even though the Christians and the Muslims handled the plague differently there were still some similarities between the two. Both groups used fire to purify the contaminated air. (Doc F.) Muslims and Christians both prayed to God that the plague would be ended soon and that they shall be given mercy. The two groups had very few similarities when it comes to handling the plague. However the two groups did have one thing in common, neither group had great knowledge of the plague.
The differences in the two groups was great. They each had their own unique ways of trying to prevent the plague, and what they believed caused the plague. The Christians strongly believed that the Jews were to blame for the spread of the plague, whereas the Muslims believed the Jews played no role in the cause of the plague. The plague caused these two groups to handle a major epidemic drastically different both good and
This Primary Source is an excerpt from "The Cremation of Strasbourg Jewry, St. Valentine's Day, February 14, 1349—About the Great Plague and the Burning of the Jews" This document talks about how the Jews were blamed for the spread of the plague by putting poisons into water and wells. Because of this it was decided that all Jews would be burned to death and none would be allowed to enter specific cities for 200 years. Our primary source gives us an idea of what people thought started the plague. Many people blamed the Jews saying that they had killed christ and that they poisoned the water and the wells with the plague. The Black Plague allowed a new wave of Anti-Semitism to spread through Europe.
They both had many deaths. They also believe the plagues were punishments from the God for their sins. In the Black Plague, people were obessed with death. In the Justinian Plague, he put down the city in lockdown.
During the thirteenth century, a disease known as the Black Death spread from Asia to Europe at an alarming speed. It travelled through the trade routes, in the form of infected fleas carried from town to town on rats causing catastrophic loses of population . The Black Death consisted of two forms of the disease; the pneumonic plague, and the bubonic plague . Since it was unknown as to what caused the disease at the time, their responses to the plague’s outbreak were almost entirely futile. Since religion was a big factor in nearly everybody’s lives, the records of the Black Death that we do have are heavily influenced by religion, and as such, their views strongly swayed things like treatments and medicine that were used against the plague.
However, during the Middle Ages, bacteria was an unknown concept and the Jews were the easiest explanation. The Black Death was a plague caused by disease spreading
The reason the Jews weren’t getting the plague as much was because Jewish tradition made them wash their hands before they ate and other sanitation traditions the others weren’t doing, like bathing every week for the Sabbath. Aside from the living being washed, the Jews also had a more sanitary
The epidemic affected Europe culturally, as the citizens developed an excessive reliance on religion as an answer for their tragedy. Additionally, the Black Death shifted the people’s social perspectives; they lost compassion for the sick and indulged in selfish desires. Finally, the pestilence altered the Europeans’ mental state, as their appreciation of life itself diminished, since the rapid spread of the plague caused torrential death rates across Europe. In response to the Black Death, the people of Europe became passionately pious, for they viewed their misfortune as a punishment from God and, thus, believed the only way to bring about continental happiness was through religion.
Christians devoted themselves to the church, giving up every aspect of their life for God. People converted to Christianity because of the dark times; a religion made them feel safe in hopes of getting to a better place to escape their hard lives (Doc 10). During the medieval period, an epidemic called the Bubonic Plague killed one-third of Europe's population. The people were so unsanitary that is spread easily, but they blamed it on the Jews alleged revenge plans against them (Doc 6). Conditions in Europe during the 800’s were full of fear and unceasing terror.
The Black Death had a big impact on European religion. Because people could not understand the plague, they strongly believed that the plague was a punishment sent by God. The church claimed that God was punishing people because of the sins they have committed. They organized religious marches and told people to pray to get rid of the horrible disease. However, around 1348, Christians started accusing the Jews of bringing and spreading the plague to Europe.
The reactions from the Christians and the Muslims to the greatly feared disease, known as the Black Death or the Great Plague were different in several ways. The first Plague was documented from 541 to 544 CE. Known as the Plague of Justinian. The Plague came in three different ways: bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. With bubonic being the most common.
The Black Death The two faiths, Christianity and Islamic, approach the black death in similar ways religiously, medically, and in dealing with the Jews. Religiously the faiths saw the plague as a curse. The Muslims thought of the black plague as a blessing from god. (Document 4, 6, 8) the Muslims and the Christians have their own opinions of what they think the Black Death is.
The Christians and Muslims were both struck by the Black Death. I will be answering the question “How different were Christian and Muslim responses.” I will also be writing the Christian response. Next, I will be writing about the Muslim response. Finally I will be writing about the Jewish reformation and the scientific inquiry.
Most of the known world was devoured by the most notorious epidemic in history. In the 1351 , the infamous Black Death began to chew up and spit out Europe along with Asia and Africa as if being a victim of the Black Death once wasn’t horrific enough, The Great Pestilence hit Europe for the second time in the 18th century, along side that, in the 20th century Asia and Africa were revisited by The Great Plague. According to the background essay, “In five short years, the plague killed between 25 and 45% of the population it encountered.” During the time of the gruesome Black Death, two religions were widely practiced in this region of the world, Christianity and Islam. These were two religions with some different views and reasoning for this merciless period of terror and death.
During the mid-fourteenth century, a plague hit Europe. Initially spreading through rats and subsequently fleas, it killed at least one-third of the population of Europe and continued intermittently until the 18th century. There was no known cure at the time, and the bacteria spread very quickly and would kill an infected person within two days, which led to structural public policies, religious, and medical changes in Europe. The plague had an enormous social effect, killing much of the population and encouraging new health reforms, it also had religious effects by attracting the attention of the Catholic Church, and lastly, it affected the trade around Europe, limiting the transportation of goods. As a response to the plague that took place
The survivors could not wrap their heads around the amount of innocent lives that were taken, and the devastation left behind by the plague. The pandemic changed people’s lives forever, and for many changed what they believed in. No matter what religion a person followed, he/she was searching for answers. Christians and Muslims had very different views on why God would inflict such devastation on his people, but they both agreed on the idea the God’s hand played the ultimate role in the disaster. Christians responded to the devastation by claiming God inflicted the plague to rid the world of sin, whereas Muslims believed God
The structure of the middle ages made the time of the plague difficult for Europeans because the church abandoned in fright of their own health, which left the people with little guidance. As the Europeans began to seek for stability they began to separate themselves from the church by not only making life about religion but about secular