How did people react...
When the black death hit Europe?
In the mid 1300s people were moving everywhere around Europe. One of the busiest parts of Europe at the time was the seaside towns of Italy. In the autumn of 1347, the disease was brought by sailors returning from the Black Sea in the East. Italy was the first hit and the front line for the disease. At first, the citizens had no idea of the horror that would affect every part of their lives. When one person contracted the disease, they would infect their whole family. People were stunned, confused and petrified because in a matter of months, 20-30% of their population were killed. They were shocked that a devastating pestilence had hit their continent.
during when the black death was affecting europe?
By now Europe was well and truly shattered by The Black Death. Once people has realised there was no cure for this disease, they turned to their faith in God and the Church. When someone lay sick in a house, no-one would come near. Even dear friends, priests and doctors would hide away and turned their backs on the people in need. Brothers would abandone brothers, and sometimes even the parents their children. Everyone avoided entirely the sick and everything belonging to them. There had been nothing before on this scale, and people had no idea how to react or behave. Everyone of authority in the cities were dead or dying, so there was nobody to keep control. Some people were able to do as they pleased, and treated everyday like it was their last by going around and having fun. Religion was no shield for the disease. In fact, it only made things worse. Everyone now believed that God was punishing the world. The disease followed the roots of trade, and everywhere it went it created a shocking response from humans hit. The church crumbled and a group called the flagellants appeared. The flagellants were people who marched from town to town, whipping their backs and hurting themselves to make God take pity on them. Doctors decided that the only cure for the disease was to flee the area. They had no idea what caused the plague. Even today it is still a bit of a mystery to modern doctors. People blamed Jews for causing the plague because they were so frightened they were looking for someone to blame and they thought the Jews were denying that Jesus was real so that's why the Christians didn't like them.
AFTER THE BLACK DEATH HAD AFFECTED EUROPE?
The Black Death had now spread to the edges of Europe and had reached England, where it devastated the peasants there. Almost all of the peasants died, and those that didn't inherited a lot of property from their family and friends who had perished. These peasants who lived had an opportunity at a new age. Because the peasants were the only working people left, they were in demand, and could ask for higher wages and cheaper rents. The Black Death was forcing social and economical threat on the Upper class people, and The Black Death had caused the world to move on. After three years of terror, and more than 20,000,000 lives lost, The Black Death had reached the edges of Europe. The disease was finally fading. People learnt to live with the disease, and a new period of art and literature appeared. Peasants gained power, landlords lost it, and there was a gradual reawakening of European culture. Slowly Europe recovered . . .