Shakespeare's life also overlapped with the Jacobean Era . This action was tantamount to signing a death warrant for the whole family and one of the terrible consequences of the disease. It is clear that they believed that God would have mercy on them if they fled, or that the Plague would decline outside of the city walls. The rodents slowly made their journey to Europe via the Silk Road routes constantly used for trade. The Black Death of October 1347 to c1352 was one of the worst catastrophes in recorded history - a deadly bubonic plague that ravaged communities across Europe, changing forever their social and economic fabric. The plague killed more than one hundred million people around the world. The victims would often die within two to four days. The relationship between the landowners and the peasants who worked in those lands suffered a great impact. No one was sure how the Death spread, and this combined with the fast course the disease took and the primitive medical practices of the time allowed for the disease to spread through the continent in devastating time. Many people at the time believed that the Plague was a result of the release of "bad air" from the ground, due to earthquakes nearby. His academic interests include religion, superstition, conflict, and identity, and he is writing his masters thesis on the impact trying on armor has on what museum visitors learn in arms and armor galleries. However, this loathsome disease resurfaced many times throughout centuries killing almost 100 million people in the world by the end of the 18th century. The age of Shakespeare was a great time in English history. Some elements of quarantine were introduced but usually by the time that this was instigated the deadly disease had already struck. It is widely believed that Bristol was the place where the Black Death first reached England. This is essentially a climbing animal which lives in walls and roofs, always in close contact with man. A few ramifications were self-evident, such as trade, others were concealed within the fear that the population had lost so much already, they could no longer afford to lose anything else, whether that be dignity or pride. Plague Pits were rapidly dug. A really effective medical treatment and cure for the Bubonic plague (Black Death) was impossible during the Elizabethan and later periods of history. William Shakespeare. They tried everything they could think of, from blood-letting to rubbing onions on their patients. The summers and winters were harsh not helping with the crop harvesting. The disease killed people of all classes. Bloodletting, or cutting open the vein nearest the infected part of the body, was commonly thought to be one of the best ways to treat the illness. There was a total lack of a structured sewage system in Elizabethan London. Black Death reigned terror till the mid 14th century. Amulets of dried blood and ground-up toads were worn at the waists of the Elizabethan Physicians. Europe during the fifteen hundreds were a dangerous place; disease, famine, and violence all prevented the population of the era to live a long life. When she was a kid, she spent a lot of time in France. In later years, doctors found a bit of success by bursting the buboes, although this could also lead to secondary infection. The Black Death (Plague of 1348) had a deep and lasting impact on Medieval Europe for a variety of reasons. In mid-fourteenth century Europe a plague (also known as the Black Death) appeared in which the first wave killed millions of people. History of Britain from Roman times to Restoration era. Households with any infected members were to be quarantined until five weeks after the last sign of infection, and inns and alehouses where infections appeared were ordered to close. Features of this era include hauntings, witch hangings, coin money, and class distinctions. First of all, the Black Death influenced the way people lived in Medieval Europe. A time of persecution and suffering, many had to endure the effects that the Black Plague brought with it. Innumerable cows, sheep, pigs, goats, and chickens perished along with people. The plague Orders did more than mandate quarantines, however. Looking at these orders, it is tempting to think of Elizabethan England as a well-oiled machine where public health is concerned. .adslot_1 { width: 300px; height: 250px; } The victims would often die within two to four days. Ring around the rosie, a pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes, of Europe got obliterated by the black plague. When a person caught the plague, he/she had a sudden fever with chills and headache. The name comes from the black buboes (infected lymph glands) which broke out over a plague victim's body. History of Britain from Roman times to Restoration era. Thousands of dead bodies lay waste as no one was there to offer them a proper Christian burial. Elizabeth I's England consolidated its position with the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, and firmly established the Church of England (begun by her father, Henry VIII, after a dispute with the Pope). However, criminal activity by nobles, persecution by lords, war, and disease eventually caused oppressed peasants to revolt. The Black Death swept through the Middle East and Europe in the years 1346-1353 but it may have begun several decades earlier in the Qinghai Plateau of Central Asia. The Elizabethan era, spanning the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, was the golden age of British history. The medieval medicines, herbs, and potions were useless against the dark power of bubonic plague. A group transporting the spoils of a Spanish carrack from Dartmouth couldn't get further than Greenwich due to the . There were high mortality rates amongst Elizabethan children and this was true of the brothers and sisters of Shakespeare some of whom were struck down by the Bubonic plague (Black Death). Cats and dogs were killed, as it was believed that they might spread the plague. Rate this book. The black plague, also known as the black death, was an epidemic that swept through Europe, starting in 1347. What caused the Bubonic plague in the Middle Ages? Many peasants died from the disease, probably from their poor diets and lack of nourishment. Elizabeth had many lovers - MYTH. Everyone used the river to move about and each London Elizabethan would have come into contact with the everyday presence of the dirt and the rats. Italian people often used to say that; people had lunch with their friends and had dinner with their ancestors in the paradise. When Henry VIII began dissolving these religious institutions in 1536, however, sickness and infirmity were not abolished with them, and so English authorities had to find new ways to address public health. One of the reasons the Plague was so deadly is that it had such a short incubation period -- and was extremely contagious. A devastating outbreak of the Elizabethan plague occurred in 1563 claiming 80,000 people in England. (Cultural) Medieval society did not know what caused the plague or how it spread. Everyday people struggle with an illness. Statistics show that 1000 people died weekly in mid August, 1600 per week in September, and 1800 per week in October. Black Death was a plague epidemic that swept across Europe between 1348 and 1353, killing nearly 25 to 60% of the entire population of Europe. A frightening and swift end to life. As the name implies, the Black Death was more often than not a death sentence. For nearly the first two hundred years of the plagues endemic stay in England, the response was handled by monasteries and religious hospitals. These occurred in 1593 , 1603 and 1608. In the modern world, however, the barely changed virus only kills 2 to 3 percent of infected victims, even when modern medicine is not accessible. Once afflicted households could end their quarantine, all clothes and bedding were to be burned. This site offers information designed for educational purposes only. If you have any Elizabethan medical treatment for head pains was with sweet-smelling herbs such as rose, lavender, sage, and bay. The bubonic plague was the most commonly seen form during the Black Death, with a mortality rate of 30-75% and symptoms including fever of 38 - 41 C (101-105 F), headaches, painful aching joints, nausea and vomiting, and a general feeling of malaise. The Black Plague can be at fault for this horrific tragedy. 1562 Elizabethan Witchcraft Act was passed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. During the Renaissance period a disease was brought to Europe that is known as the Black Plague. Any pictures of Physicians of the Elizabethan era look very strange and quite frightening. It came to Europe on 12 ships from the Black Sea. In turn, all the justices of the county were ordered to meet every three weeks during an outbreak to compile a report on how many had contracted or died from the plague in their county, what towns and villages were affected, how much money they had raised through taxes, and how that money was being spent. In an indirect way, the Black Death led to the abolishment of the feudal system and more freedom for the. The Black Death began its long, sweeping journey through Europe in 1348 (some reports say it was actually in October of 1347). Black Death, pandemic that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351, taking a proportionately greater toll of life than any other known epidemic or war up to that time. It only took about twenty-three days from the point of infection for the plague to be fatal (Benedictow). There were Elizabethan surgeons, but these had a similar reputation to the barbers and the usual route that most people took was to visit the apothecary, or dispenser of drugs. First arriving in Europe through sick merchants on Genoese trading ships that docked in Sicily, the plague caused boils, fever, diarrhea, horrible pain, and shortly, death. The Elizabethan Medical Treatment of the Black Death or the Bubonic PlagueThe main reasons for the 14th century pandemic effect and spread of the virus was the poor hygiene and the massive number of infected rodents. The reign of Elizabeth (1558 - 1603) saw England emerge as the leading naval and commercial power of the Western world. If the workers refused to do so or demanded more wages they would be fined and even sent jails. The bizarre and gruesome Physician masks would have acted as protection against contracting the disease through breathing the same air as the victim. When, despite the high wages, no new men for this job could be found women and boys, especially those who had recovered from the Bubonic plague (Black Death), were forced to carry out this work. Inadequate hygiene standards added to the problem and spread of the disease. As the disease was spread by rodents and fleas, it did lessen its ill effects in the winters but used to spread its arms in the summers and springs again. Information about the Symptoms of the Black Death or the Bubonic PlagueThe symptoms associated with the disease were, and are, painful swellings (bubos) of the lymph nodes. Between 1558 and 1582 plaques arrived in London every four years on average. The black plague or the bubonic death is a word we all are quite acquainted with as this quite clearly indicates death, epidemic, something horrifying and something that mirrors ominous facets. Facts about Life in Elizabethan England 8: the diet of the poor people The poor people ate a small portion of meat for it was expensive. Sicily was then overcome by the disease and it spread through the trade routes all over Europe. Many people aboard the ship were already dead from the disease and the ship was ordered to leave the harbor, but it was too late. For all the steps Elizabethans took to contain it, plague would remain a major fixture of English life up into the Restoration, with the last major outbreak hitting in 1665. Yes, this talks about death and epidemics that used to kill hundreds and thousands in the medieval ages that had no specific cure and hence, was really terrifying. 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