The Black Death
by Hunter Meredith
Between 1348 and 1350, the Bubonic Plague (better known as Black Death) swept across Europe and some parts of Asia, leaving a massive death toll in its wake. By some counts, sixty percent of all of Europe’s population was wiped out in this destructive twelve year period, which translates into about 200 million poor souls lost across multiple countries.
They did not die well. The disease was marked by the appearance of pus-filled welts called bubos. The poor victims would develop black skin discolorations and would soon start complaining of a high fever. Before long the vomiting would start, and to their horror blood would usually be mixed in with the vomit. Most of them would die within a week of the first symptoms appearing.
The social order of things changed drastically in this time. The plague spread so rapidly and efficiently and took the lives of its victims so quickly that there was often very little warning that death was near. By that same token, the governments of Europe had only a small chance of making a difference to their people before it was too late. Social ties fell apart quickly as neighbors, friends, and family members of the infected abandoned them to their fate to save themselves. Traditional funerals were replaced by rushed burials in mass graves.
It would be several decades before the people of Europe could recover from the pandemic and return to some semblance of normalcy. And it left an indelible impact on art and literature for years to come, with many figures such as Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio writing about the anguish that the plague brought.
The Introduction to Boccaccio’s Decameron offers a good glimpse at the effects of the plague. Social order collapses and personal connections break down as the plague forces people apart. Groups of people isolate themselves from the rest of society, including the protaganists, whom stubbornly refuse to hear any more talk of the plague and tell stories to forget about it.
by Hunter Meredith
Between 1348 and 1350, the Bubonic Plague (better known as Black Death) swept across Europe and some parts of Asia, leaving a massive death toll in its wake. By some counts, sixty percent of all of Europe’s population was wiped out in this destructive twelve year period, which translates into about 200 million poor souls lost across multiple countries.
They did not die well. The disease was marked by the appearance of pus-filled welts called bubos. The poor victims would develop black skin discolorations and would soon start complaining of a high fever. Before long the vomiting would start, and to their horror blood would usually be mixed in with the vomit. Most of them would die within a week of the first symptoms appearing.
The social order of things changed drastically in this time. The plague spread so rapidly and efficiently and took the lives of its victims so quickly that there was often very little warning that death was near. By that same token, the governments of Europe had only a small chance of making a difference to their people before it was too late. Social ties fell apart quickly as neighbors, friends, and family members of the infected abandoned them to their fate to save themselves. Traditional funerals were replaced by rushed burials in mass graves.
It would be several decades before the people of Europe could recover from the pandemic and return to some semblance of normalcy. And it left an indelible impact on art and literature for years to come, with many figures such as Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio writing about the anguish that the plague brought.
The Introduction to Boccaccio’s Decameron offers a good glimpse at the effects of the plague. Social order collapses and personal connections break down as the plague forces people apart. Groups of people isolate themselves from the rest of society, including the protaganists, whom stubbornly refuse to hear any more talk of the plague and tell stories to forget about it.