Introduction
Black Death also known as Bubonic Plague marked the leading demographic tragedy in the course of European history. It erupted in late 1347, resulting in deaths of one third of Europe’s population. It swept through towns and cities killing any person in its path irrespective of social class. It had major consequences including social, cultural and economic impact, which were both positive and negative.
The significance of the Black Death’s impacts on the economic and cultural life of medieval Europe
Black Death led to massive economic decline. This event changed the status of pheasants and lords forever. There were no enough lords remaining to manage things. The survivors could not find workers to cultivate their fields, caring for the cattle, harvesting agricultural products. The need to have paid workers lead to movement that were not focusing on creation of working class and from feudalism. These incidences opened a window for the coming Renaissance. This was the major negative impact on Europe’s economy. Extreme loss of life resulted in increased availability of goods, decrease in prices, increased surplus of jobs and rise in wages and improved standard of living. These aspects were positive effects of Black Death among Europeans in the medieval period ( Wright-Maley & Joshi, 2017).
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Black Death also had massive impact on the cultural life of Europeans. It had significant impact on literature and art. In 1350 in the aftermath of the Black Death, overall, the European culture became morbid. The mood became that of negativity and the art turned dark with illustrations of death as a way of coping with the tragedy. Many of the art contained graphic depictions that were full of death and destructions such as the “dance of death” that exhibited death. Many writers such as Boccaccio and Patrarch used graphic illustrations in their literature. For example, Boccaccio wrote about how people’s conditions were sympathetic, and many died unattended and without assistance in their homes and others on the street. Boccaccio indicates that their deaths could only be noticed by the stench of their rotting bodies and were thrown and heaped in ditches and covered with little earth. Therefore, it posed negative influence on the culture of the Europeans ( Wright-Maley & Joshi, 2017).
Ways that my knowledge of other epidemics in history provide additional insight into the impact of the Black Death
The Black Plague is identified as a source of interest in various history courses. The knowledge of other epidemics in history offer additional insight into the impact of Black Death. The Black Death epidemic compares with others that have occurred throughout history. The past epidemics offer more insights into the Black Death. The epidemics lead to deaths of many people. It caused changes in their economy, religious beliefs, and culture. For instance, the epidemics resulted in failure of religion because the church could not save people from the epidemic causing many individuals to doubt their beliefs. They perceived the plague as a punishment from God. Also, it lead to economic decline and social impact ( Tseng, Shih & Chan et al., 2016) These impacts are similar to those of the Black Death and thus provide more understanding of the events and influences that occurred in Europe.
Conclusion
The Black Death had profound consequences in Europe medieval including economic, social, cultural, and religious. It was recorded as the most devastating epidemic in history. It resulted in deaths of one third of the population, lead to economic decline and negatively affected the European culture. However, it also has some positive effects such as improved the living standards of peasants who survived the epidemic, it generated new opportunities such as surplus of jobs and high wages. Despite the evidence of these positive impacts, the negative influences were overwhelming because of their adverse effects on the lives of the people in Europe medieval.
References
Tseng, T. J., Shih, H. Y., Chan, T. C., Lee, D. C. C., Wan, C. H., Ku, C. C., ... & King, C. C. (2016). History of Major Epidemics of Avian Influenza in Humans and Public Health Perspectives. Epidemiology Bulletin , 32 (5), 32-33.
Wright-Maley, C., & Joshi, P. (2017). All Fall Down: Simulating the Spread of the Black Plague in the High School History Classroom. The History Teacher , 50 (4).
