Impact Of Black Death Disease On Society Of Medieval Europe

In 1346, Europe was faced with the spread of the Black Death claiming the lives of twenty million people. The population was slowly dwindling thanks to the often fatal disease, leaving lasting effects on European society. Over a time period spanning approximately four years, from 1346-1352, the Black Death had infected nearly 100,000 individuals. Following this outbreak, this time period would from then on be referred to as, “The Great Dying” or “The Great Pestilence.” In the years following this epidemic, the name The Black Death continued to be used widely and frequently and is what we continue to refer to it as today when learning the history of this infectious disease. This paper will discuss a multitude of different effects that the Black Death had on European society including; social effects, religious effects, economic effects, and political effects.

Signs and Symptoms of the Black Death

The Black Death was an extremely deadly disease, killing the majority of those that encountered the disease due to its very high mortality rate of almost eighty percent. Once someone contracted the disease, warning signs and deadly symptoms began to appear almost immediately. Within five days of contracting the disease, a shift in one’s appearance would occur. Lymph nodes in one’s armpit, neck, and groin area would become inflamed and enlarged, resulting in severe pain. Following inflammation, a high fever would begin, resulting in the infected individual becoming delusional. Next, black patches or splotches would appear all over the infected person’s body, caused by hemorrhages developing underneath their skin. While these additional symptoms continued to occur, swelling within the lymph nodes grew larger. Often time, the swelling would become so extreme that the lymph nodes would burst open triggering excruciating pain. During this time, it was not uncommon for doctors to make house visits to treat the infected individuals. Doctors believed that if a patient was able to make it to this stage, they had a chance to fight the deadly disease because typically the disease would have already claimed the lives of an individual before the bursting lymph nodes. While all cases proved to have the potential to turn deadly, each person could have a different reaction, increasing complexities for doctors looking to treat them. For example, if the person’s bloodstream was directly infected, this could lead to septic shock or massive bleeding, in return causing instant death.

Social Effects

Social effects played a huge role during and after the Black Death time period. When it came to families, many individuals lost family members, close friends, and neighbors. As these people were falling ill, it was a particularly long and painful process. Forcing family members and friends to have to watch their loved ones go through this horrific and almost guaranteed death sentence. A long-term effect of this meant that many families would no longer be able to carry on their surnames as so many of their family members had died. The effects of the Black Plague displayed a huge presence in communities as well. Serfs, defined as, a class of people who had to work on a person’s land, were now free to leave their land and were given the ability to seek higher wages. The aftermath of the plague had created a series of different setbacks for those who lived within the society. Due to the significance of the plague, many people were scared to encounter anyone that was thought to have contracted the disease. Society then forced those who were possibly infected to be placed into quarantine. Due to the plague killing, approximately sixty percent of Europe’s population; religious, economic, and political issues began to rise.

Those living in poverty seemed to have been most affected by the diseases, due to the lack of resources and cleanliness of the areas that they lived in. During this time, people were desperately attempting to find a reason behind the Black Death. Many of the individuals within this society turned to magic and witchcraft to try and develop a cure for the plague. For those who did not believe in magic and witchcraft, turning to God was thought to be their only option. Those who turned to God began to ask why they were being punished by such an evil thing. For these people, normal life as they knew it was over. Many people thought that death was inevitable and turned to lives that were extremely outlandish or even decided to flee the area in hopes of a better chance to survive. Overall, the Black Death had major social effects that forever changed European society.

Religious Affects

Before the Black Death arrived in Europe, everything revolved around the church. Due to the focus on the church in this society, oftentimes, even the simplest tasks throughout the day began with a prayer. As time went on, and the plague became prominent, some of the people started to believe that it was in fact a punishment from God. People believed that the only way to receive help from this infectious disease would be if they turned to the church for prayer and began to ask God for help. Throughout the time during which the outbreak was devastating Europe, religious reactions were most prevalently seen in one of two manners. First, there was a rise in the flagellants and the persecution of the Jews. Flagellants were a group of Christians who believed that God had sent the plague upon them as a punishment. This group of Christians referred to themselves as, “The Brotherhood of the Flagellants.” In addition to this newly created group, other people within society continued to do everything that they could to try and please their God so that he would take this awful punishment away. People became increasingly upset with God that they soon began to take extreme measures. Some people even went as far as to create rituals involving beating themselves up or injuring themselves to “please” God. The Jews had lived apart from the Christians in separate quarters and because the Jews were already quartered, they had a better chance of surviving this deadly plague. They looked to the priest and the bishops to say prayers over them asking for them to cure this curse that had been put on their town. The people continued to ask the church what the Black Plague was and why it was happening, many people began to lose their faith. Since religion played such a huge role in these people’s lives, once they lost their faith in the church, many thought they could no longer believe in it. Many people believed that no one was going to be able to overcome such a terrible outbreak, so what was the point of asking for the savior to forgive them for any sins they may have done in the past.

Economic Effects

Religion was not the only area of society affected by the Black Death, the economy was also suffering from the repercussions. As discussed previously, people were fleeing their land and leaving everything that they owned behind. For those who chose to stay and wait for current circumstances to improve, times remained challenging. One of the reasons conditions became increasingly difficult was driven by the fact that people were either no longer able to work, or their family members who had previously supported them had come in contact with this infectious disease, and it took their life. The families most impacted in this sense were those who originally came from two-income households and would now no longer have the financial support that they once relied on so heavily. Due to the rapidly diminishing availability of quality labor, businesses were forced to raise wages to attract a qualified workforce. Before the plague infecting European society, there was an extreme divide between classes, meaning that people who were considered lower class were nowhere near those who were considered middle or upper class. After the plague, this line that at one time was so defined was now blurred. High-class citizens were now on the same side as low-class, poverty-stricken families. As a result of this, high-class families did not appreciate the fact that they did not stand out to the community anymore. This frustrated the upper class causing them to wear an even fancier dress than typical, just so they would stand out to others. These issues were not just occurring within the European society. In fact, a trade recession was occurring worldwide. The prices of everyday goods began to inflate rapidly, especially on wheat. Due to this price inflation, trading between countries became a challenge. Farming was also not an option because land that was once lucrative was being abandoned by those who were fleeing the area. In light of these factors, necessities grew more and more expensive, inevitably making the vast majority of items impossible for individuals to purchase.

Political Effects

Due to the extensive and lasting effects caused by the Black Death, no one was immune to some type of long-lasting suffering. It did not matter if people were wealthy or poor, this deadly plague made its presence with no discrimination and spread to people within all classes. The plague had a major impact on land-owning. While people were fleeing for their safety, land-owning was unable to be done due to the lack of income of individuals. The government started to crumble as those who were affiliated with the political system were to become infected by the plague. These individuals were locking themselves in their houses and leaving themselves to die. The government was extremely unstable and was completely helpless due to the extreme outbreak. Things began to fall apart for the government quickly. Since the plague caused so many deaths, it only increased the amount of pressure put on the monarchs across Europe as they had to find ways to deal with the crisis. This pressure caused strain on the political structure within Europe, ultimately resulting in a lasting political crisis.  

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Black Death was a deadly and infamous disease that swarmed across Europe, resulting in countless deaths and a variety of non-fatal impacts. These deaths not only took a toll on dependents and loved ones, but the continent itself. The entirety of European society was turned upside down as this plague swept through the continent. In return, once defined social classes were being ripped apart and families were no longer able to purchase the goods needed to live comfortably and thrive. The economy began to feel these effects, and stress began to reach those holding political power. The cumulative effect resulted in an ongoing struggle affecting the people and the economy for generations to come.