The Plague
Background
1348-1350: kills one third to one half of Europe’s population
Carried by fleas infected with Yersina Pestis, traveling on black rats
According to Gabriele de Mussis Christian merchants from Genoa and Muslim residents start a fight and Muslims catapult dead bodies in order to avenge Christians with plague
Spread along trade routes
Types
Bubonic- carried by flea
Pneumonic- bacillus invade lungs and transmits by air
Septocemic- bacillus in bloodstream, fatal within hours or days
Symptoms
Headache, weakness
Aches, chills in leg and groin, fast pulse, slurred speech
On 3rd day lymph nodes swell and purple blotches appear
On 4th or 5th day anxiety and fear settle in and death approaches
Causes
Earthquakes releasing poisonous gases
Raining down of frogs, toads, reptiles
Lust with old women
The pope and King believe the conjunction of Saturn, Mars, and Juniper at 1pm on March 20, 1348
Gods wrath on sinful Man
Cures
Flight to high land
Don’t bath because bathing opens pores
Eat figs, rhubarb, onions, leeks, garlic
Don’t eat dessert or hard-boiled eggs
Smell a pocket of dried flowers
No exercise because it increases the amount of air taken in
Kill beggars, cripples, lepers, gypsies, drunks, Jews (16,000)
Effects
Government, trade, commerce come to a halt
People abandon family and friends to reduce risks of getting plague
More medical texts are produced
Political, social, and religious unrest
Tears apart the feudal system
Causes a fear of God
People turn to the physical world and begin to wonder how it works
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