Black Death

Black Death is a name given to the great epidemic of bubonic plague, a succession of fatal epidemics that devastated the world from China to Ireland in the mid 14th century. The most serious was that of 1348, which, as is reckoned, stripped England alone of one-third of its inhabitants, and killed a large part of the population in Europe where it had already visited in 1342. It is believed to be the same as the Oriental plague, which originated in the central Asia and china, though attended with peculiar symptoms. It spread rapidly through Europe, carried by the fleas of black rats, reaching England in 1348. The disease was brought from the Orient to Constantinople, and early in 1347 appeared in Sicily and several coast towns of Italy. It appeared in terrible virulence in 1348-9 in England. It also came in milder form in 1361-2, and again in 1369.

It is said that 100,000 persons died in London, nearly 60,000 in Norwich, and proportionate numbers in other cities. These figures seem incredible, but a recent writer, who has spent much time in the investigation of records, asserts that at least half the population, or about 2,500,000 souls, of England perished in this outbreak. The ravages of the pestilence over the rest of the world were no less terrible. Germany is said to have lost 1,244,434 victims, and Italy, over half the population. On a moderate calculation, it may be assumed that there perished in Europe during the first appearance of the Black Death, fully 25,000,000 human beings. Concerning the Orient we have less reliable records, but 13,000,000 are said to have died in China, and 24,000,000 in the rest of Asia and adjacent islands. The plague also ravaged Northern Africa, but of its course there little is known.

This great plague, the great pestilence or simply the pestilence, or great death, came to be known as the "Black Death," after the term was introduced in 1823 into English history by Mrs Markham, pseudonym of Mrs Penrose, and thereafter into medical literature by a translation of German 'der Schwarze Tod' in 1833.

The Black Death was the most deadly epidemic ever known. It is believed to have been an aggravated outburst of the Oriental plague, which from the earliest records of history has periodically appeared in Asia and Northern Africa.

After a brief pause the pestilence broke out at Avignon in January, 1348, and thence advanced to Southern France, Spain and Northern Italy. Passing through France and visiting, but not yet ravaging, Germany, it made its way to England, cutting down its first victims at Dorset, in August, 1348. Thence it traveled slowly, reaching London early in the winter. Soon it embraced the entire kingdom, penetrating to every rural hamlet, so that England became a mere pest-house. The chief symptoms of the disease are described as "spitting, in some cases actual vomiting, of blood, the breaking out of inflammatory boils in parts, or over the whole of the body, and the appearance of those dark blotches upon the skin which suggested its most startling name. Some of the victims died almost on the first attack, some in twelve hours, some in two days, almost all within the first three days." The utter powerlessness of medical skill before the disease was owing partly to the physicians' ignorance of its nature, and largely to the effect of the spirit of terror which hung like a pall over men's minds. After some months had passed, the practice of opening the hard boils was adopted, with very good effect, and many lives were thus saved. But the havoc wrought by the disease in England was terrible.

The prevalence and severity of the pestilence during this century is ascribed to the disturbed conditions of the elements that preceded it. For a number of years Asia and Europe had suffered from mighty earthquakes, furious tornadoes, violent floods, clouds of locusts darkening the air and poisoning it with their corrupting bodies. Whether these natural disturbances were the cause of the plague is not certainly known, but many writers on the subject regard the connection as both probable and possible.

The horrors of that dreadful time were increased by the fearful persecutions visited on the Jews, who were accused of having caused the pestilence by poisoning the public wells. The people rose to exterminate the hapless race, and killed them by fire and torture wherever found. It is impossible for us to conceive of the actual horror of such times.