An epidemic disease causing a high rate or mortality. A virulent contagious febrile disease that is caused by a bacterium. A sudden unwelcome outbreak. (Cite this) All 3 of these sentences are definitions of Plague. The Bubonic Plague is a monumental example of Plague. “The medieval black plague that ravaged Europe and killed a third of its population…transmitted to humans from infected rats by the oriental rat flea. In 14th century Europe, the victims of the black plague had bleeding below the skin which darkened their bodies. The Black Death was characterized by gangrene of the fingers, toes, and nose.” (cite this)
The Bubonic Plague “originated in China in 1334 and spread along the great trade routes to Constantinople and then to Europe” (cite this). It went along the trade routes in China, India and many other Northeast countries. From there it hit Messina, a port city in Sicily, Italy. Word had spread that a great catastrophe had been striking areas all over, but the magnitude was still unknown until a dozen ships landed in port with almost all the sailors dead. Before they had enough time to realize what had happened and send the ships off to sea to be destroyed: the plague had struck. There was no stopping the plague from there. Without knowing what was truly happening it spread all across the port cities of the Mediterranean Sea. People started seeing and hearing what was happening and would try fleeing to the countryside or another city. They didn’t know the flea’s from the ship rats could be on their clothes or that they were already infected and just spreading it to new areas. The Plague started in 1347 and by 1351 it had spread across the entire European continent. Number of deaths are very much unknown due to its large scale, lack of understanding and recording, and the decimation of entire towns. Some historians say 20 million deaths equally one-third of the population. Others say 50-75 million equaling two-thirds of the population. It was the 14th century. People didn’t know about proper sanitation, transferring of bacteria or viruses, and in general what the Plague was. There were many methods used to try preventing the illness. Most of them involved air since there was a smell of death and some victims got pneumonia from their infection. “They would burn incense like juniper and rosemary to try to prevent infected air. People would dunk their handkerchiefs in aromatic oils to cover their nose and mouth from the air.” The Plague doctors would wear masks with long beaks like birds that were filled with incense to block the smell of death and were thought to purify the air. Some believed if they were in the sewer the plague filled air wouldn’t survive there; this just meant they didn’t survive. Another remedy some towns tried was using sound. “Church bells were often rang during a crisis, so they felt this was a justifiable remedy. Sometimes cannons were fired because they were so loud.” Many believed the sickness and death was coming from God. That it was something they couldn’t physically prevent from happening but maybe through other means. “Pope Clement VI, fearing for his safety, had the idea to sit between two large fires to keep the air pure. The plague …show more content…
They would end up washing their hands multiple times a day, about as often as we do today. They had to wash before eating, after going to the bathroom, after intimate human contact. This was not the limit though for anytime their hands were physically or thought to be dirty they washed. Before Sabbath was the time to bathe, since Sabbath is every Saturday Jews were bathing weekly in the mikveh. Mikveh’s were created because, like usual, Jews were denied the right to bathe and be in the rivers around the cities. Rules were set in place to ensure the cleanliness of mikveh’s including who could use them, the preparation made for the water, and when people could use them. Women use the mikveh seven days after the end of their menstrual cycle. They have to do this later at night and have to pay extra due to the need for freshwater and the mikveh needing emptied after a female cleansing in
The Bubonic Plague “originated in China in 1334 and spread along the great trade routes to Constantinople and then to Europe” (cite this). It went along the trade routes in China, India and many other Northeast countries. From there it hit Messina, a port city in Sicily, Italy. Word had spread that a great catastrophe had been striking areas all over, but the magnitude was still unknown until a dozen ships landed in port with almost all the sailors dead. Before they had enough time to realize what had happened and send the ships off to sea to be destroyed: the plague had struck. There was no stopping the plague from there. Without knowing what was truly happening it spread all across the port cities of the Mediterranean Sea. People started seeing and hearing what was happening and would try fleeing to the countryside or another city. They didn’t know the flea’s from the ship rats could be on their clothes or that they were already infected and just spreading it to new areas. The Plague started in 1347 and by 1351 it had spread across the entire European continent. Number of deaths are very much unknown due to its large scale, lack of understanding and recording, and the decimation of entire towns. Some historians say 20 million deaths equally one-third of the population. Others say 50-75 million equaling two-thirds of the population. It was the 14th century. People didn’t know about proper sanitation, transferring of bacteria or viruses, and in general what the Plague was. There were many methods used to try preventing the illness. Most of them involved air since there was a smell of death and some victims got pneumonia from their infection. “They would burn incense like juniper and rosemary to try to prevent infected air. People would dunk their handkerchiefs in aromatic oils to cover their nose and mouth from the air.” The Plague doctors would wear masks with long beaks like birds that were filled with incense to block the smell of death and were thought to purify the air. Some believed if they were in the sewer the plague filled air wouldn’t survive there; this just meant they didn’t survive. Another remedy some towns tried was using sound. “Church bells were often rang during a crisis, so they felt this was a justifiable remedy. Sometimes cannons were fired because they were so loud.” Many believed the sickness and death was coming from God. That it was something they couldn’t physically prevent from happening but maybe through other means. “Pope Clement VI, fearing for his safety, had the idea to sit between two large fires to keep the air pure. The plague …show more content…
They would end up washing their hands multiple times a day, about as often as we do today. They had to wash before eating, after going to the bathroom, after intimate human contact. This was not the limit though for anytime their hands were physically or thought to be dirty they washed. Before Sabbath was the time to bathe, since Sabbath is every Saturday Jews were bathing weekly in the mikveh. Mikveh’s were created because, like usual, Jews were denied the right to bathe and be in the rivers around the cities. Rules were set in place to ensure the cleanliness of mikveh’s including who could use them, the preparation made for the water, and when people could use them. Women use the mikveh seven days after the end of their menstrual cycle. They have to do this later at night and have to pay extra due to the need for freshwater and the mikveh needing emptied after a female cleansing in