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 was caused by various reasons, non-religious and religious. The disease in Europe, was said to be caused by, miasma (impure air) carried by warm southern winds, the March 20, 1345, conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, excessive clothing or outrageous fashion, and in the near east, caused by, miasma due to wind carrying the stench of Mongol bodies from Crimea, …show more content…
The disease killed a multitude of people, the pre-plague population of Europe was 75,000,000, but in 1351 went down drastically to 51,160,000, leaving Europe with a mortality rate of 31%. The pre-plague estimated population of the English population was 4,200,000, the post-plague estimated population of the English population was 2,800,000. The general English population had a death rate of 33%, the death rate of English monks in monasteries was 44%. All of the parish priests had a death rate of 45%. The pre-plague Egyptian population was about 4 to 8,000,000 and the death rate becoming 25 to 33%. The pre-plague Syrian population was 1,200,000 with the death rate being 33%. The people who suffered from this diseases body’s were typically carried by biers and benches, although many people were dying and there was not an adequate amount of biers and benches to carry all the bodies. The bodies started being carried by wooden planks, ladders, doors, window shutters, and baskets. Sometimes a bier or a plank carried several bodies. (DBQ: The Black Death, …show more content…
The Christians thought the Lord was punishing them with the disease, and that when the Lord was enraged to embrace in acts of penance, so that you do not stray from the right path and parish. The Christians pray to their Lord and ask what they should do? A great number of saintly sisters of the Hotel Dieu, who did not fear to die, nursed the sick in all sweetness and humility, with no thought of honor, a number too often renewed by death, rest in peace with Christ, as we may piously believe. People began to think the Jews were guilty for the disease. The Muslims looked at praying for the disease to go away in disgust, because they believe the plague is a blessing from God. They believed the resurrection would come, and that means the deserving dead would resurrect, on this day everyone prayed. Some of the Muslim society at this time would have considered the Black Death an apocalypse. (DBQ: The Black Death, 2010) The Black Death was a tragic, scary time for everyone who lived in it, But the responses from the Muslims and the Christians were much different. The plague ended in 1351, as a result of the plague the people fasted for 3 days, afterward assembling in the Great mosque, and spent the night there in prayers. The Jews went out with their book of the law and the Christians with the gospel. (DBQ: The Black Death,
Some believed the plague was caused by miasmas (bad air) or poisonous vapors associated with decomposition and foul air. Some people resorted to burning incense or other herbs because they believed that the overpowering smell of the dead victims was the source of the disease. Public officials took measures to contain the disease through quarantine by walling up homes that had members with disease. This action had limited success, but still prevented the disease more than in other areas which did not enforce this type of
Black Death and the Bubonic Plague: Origins: The Bubonic Plague was an epidemic where the disease Black Death was spread throughout the world. This disease comes from Yersinia Pestis, which is a bacteria that is found on the backs of rats. Rats were present on merchant ships, as well as they were in the goods being traded. When people received goods, they consumed this bacteria and got Black Death. Black Death was a disease that caused major suffering and spread rapidly.
Politically there were also many different reactions that Christians and Muslims had toward the plague. Within the Christian community civilians were being denied entry to cities if there were any signs of infliction within that person. This is shown in source seven where Giovanni Boccaccio states, “the entry of any sick person into the
In the early 1300s, the Black Death arose and created massive terror and hysteria throughout Europe (Wein). People were looking for someone to blame and a source for the plague either for info or medical reasons (Wein). Eventually, Christian people began to lose reason in time of terror. People began to blame Jews for this plague by saying they poisoned the water. They continued saying that Jews wanted to hurt Christian just because they were non-Christians (Wein).
In conclusion, the Christian and Muslim responses were completely different, but similar at the same time. They believed in some of the same causes and cures, it being a punishment from God, but how they reacted and what they did about it was completely, the Muslims wanted the Plague and Christians cried in confusion. There is no doubt they were similar and had some connections, but we have to face the truth, we were different then and we are still now and always going to be forever,
The Black Death was a plague that affected Europe between 1347 and 1351. It is said that the plague was caused by a bacteria called Yersinia pestis. The plague was created in the inner part of Asia and China, the plague got to the Europeans in 1347 when a Kipchak army overwhelmed a trading post in Crimea. The disease spread from the Mediterranean ports, then affecting Sicily, North Africa, Italy, Spain, England, France, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic lands. It is said that the plague went to Europe many times and that it got into Europe from trade routes in waves from Asia, it came in the waves because the climate instability affected the population of rodents that were infected with the fleas that carried the plague.
Those affected were exiled from their communities and were considered socially dead, isolation going so far as to have funeral services enacted for the leper before they were to be exiled. During the time of the Black Death, Christianity connected disease and sin together, disease being a punishment for sins. When the Black Plague hit towns, many prayed to repent for their sins in the hope that it would stop the spread of disease caused by God’s wrath. Drawing from the actions taken to deal with and to isolate lepers, the Black Death was treated in a similar fashion in that cities would not let people from areas where the plague had been into their cities to stop the spread of disease. The main protection against disease was to avoid infection, consequently, regulations regarding isolation rapidly developed throughout
The Black Plague is known to be one of the most deadly pandemics in history, estimated to have killed 30-60% of Europe’s population in the series of outbreaks between the 14th and 18th centuries. The devastation of the plague was made much worse by the incomprehension of those affected by it. Y. Pestis, the bacteria which causes plague, was spread by infected hosts, including rats and fleas. However, the sparse knowledge of science and medicine led Europeans to blame other sources for the debilitating disease. Some believed the plague was the wrath of God, punishing the guilty for their sins.
It was the Spring of 1348, and the citizens of Europe were malnourished due to limited food supplies for such a large population. This made them more susceptible to the outbreak of the Black Death. The Black Death originated in Asia, then moved westward into Sicily. From Sicily, the plague crept its way up through Europe infecting millions of people, in total killing more than one third of Europe’s population. In fact, over fifty percent of the population of Siena died, along with fifty percent of Paris, eighty percent of Florence, and over two thirds of Venice.
In the history of Europe, the Black Death or the Great Mortality has always been one of the most significant and destructive natural disaster, it was so pernicious that it had killed about 25% to 50% of the population in only four years. Most people in Europe did not have the resistance to the plague because it was originated in Asia, the trades between Asia and Europe carried flea-infested rats, as a result, disease like bubonic plague was brought to Europe for the first time. Due to the trades, the plague spread all over Europe very quickly in the mid-fourteenth century. The Black Death was momentous not only because of its significantly high death rate, but also for its impact on European society, economy, and politics. Once the plague broke out and shown its threat, people in the society began living for the moment, some threw themselves with unrestraint into sexual and alcoholic binge, while the wealthy and powerful people fled to their country estate trying to evade the plague.
Black Death Leo Gelband Sheldon Forsyth Did you know that the Black Death killed over three million Europeans during the Medieval Ages? It is actually known to be the worst epidemic of all times. The Black Death affected many aspects of society during Medieval Times. One of the aspects that were affected was the Catholic Church's power. The Black Death negatively affected the Catholic Church's power in Medieval Times.
The plague was a disease that devastated Europe and the Christian population. Christians handled the plague very differently than the other
A vile and putrid plague eradicated almost half of Europe during the Middle Ages. This plague is known as the Bubonic Plague, more commonly known as the Black Plague, or the Black Death. The Bubonic Plague, which ravaged Europe during the Middle Ages, negatively impacted society due to its extreme fatality rates which eradicated almost half of Europe’s population. While it showed up multiple times in history,. The Black Plague is a foul disease that showed up as early as 430 B.C. when it struck in Athens, Greece and attacks the lungs and lymph nodes which causes painful and unappealing effects ("Bubonic plague.
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 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.