ipl-logo

Bubonic Plague Chapter 20 Analysis

977 Words4 Pages

“Ring-a-round the rosie/ A pocket full of posies/ Ashes! Ashes!/ We all fall down!” This children 's nursery rhyme refers to the gruesome and devastating Bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, that ravaged most of Europe during the 14th century. The first line refers to the swelling of the lymph node which was the first of the symptoms. Next came the atrocious odor that was emitted as the victim’s condition worsened. Healthy individuals used flowers or posies to cover the odor. The ashes refers to the cremation of deceased bodies. The last line, “We all fall down!” describes death’s arrival and the use of “we” expresses the ominous nature of the disease and the terrible times. “The mortality rate of the Black Death was horrendous. It is estimated in Europe that 20-25 million died …show more content…

In the economic system at the time, manorialism, peasants were not allowed to leave their Lord’s lands. The Bubonic plague changed everything. Lords then had to pay higher wages for services from the remaining peasants. “Wages in England rose from twelve to twenty—eight percent from the 1340s to the 1350s and twenty to forty percent from the 1340s to the 1360s” (Routt). This trend towards higher wages for peasants didn’t change even after the Black Death was over. “After the Black Death, as the rich saw their wealth disappear and poor laborers and peasant farmers become wealthier, they took measures to stop the trend” (Hardman). King Edward III of England made it illegal for workers to demand wages higher than they had been before the plague which made the peasants revolt (Hardman). The peasants successfully revolted, the manor system ended, and they were able to demand higher wages and their freedom to work where they wanted to. Wealthy peasants could now start to specialize in jobs, which then created the bourgeois or the middle

Show More
Related
1110 Words | 5 Pages

“Now, ere the sun advance his burning eye, The day to cheer and night's dank dew to dry, I must upfill this osier cage of ours With baleful weeds and precious-juiced flowers. The earth, that's nature's mother, is her tomb. What is her burying, grave that is her womb.

Read More
1278 Words | 6 Pages

Since it was so difficult to produce goods or trade them the price rose very high. Due to the plague, many people died which meant that the wages for the people who were alive increased and many of them were wanted that they weren't subjected to only one lord. The lords tried to mostly go at the peasants as they would give them a reasonable wage and this way the lord was also able to keep them working for

Read More
685 Words | 3 Pages

The king allowed nobles to have authority over peasants, not only that but the nobles had the choice to do military service; unlike the peasants who had no choice. The king exempt nobles from most taxes, and allowed nobles to collect tolls from people using roads and markets. This allowed many nobles and clergy to live in great luxury chateaux and palaces. Another thing that made the peasants angry was the yearly incomes, the Archbishop of Paris was making 50,000 livres and Marquis de Mannevillette was making 20,000 livres. Meanwhile a typical village priest was making 750 livres and a master carpenter made 200 livres, specifically you can see the yearly income and compare it your self.

Read More
140 Words | 1 Pages

The plague then started to infect thousands and thousands until 35% of Europe’s population was deceased. This reduced the world population in total to seventy-five to one hundred million people. Massive loss of life was caused. For a short time war stopped and trade declined. Many of the serfs died, so the remaining ones demanded higher wages.

Read More
671 Words | 3 Pages

The fashions of the nobility became more extravagant in order to emphasize the social standing of the person wearing the clothing. The peasants became slightly more empowered, and revolted when the aristocracy attempted to resist the changes brought about by the plague. The social and economic structure of Europe was drastically and irretrievably

Read More
491 Words | 2 Pages

It was a crisis where no one knew why death kept coming. Not only did kill, but it impacted how life was lived, too. Overall, the black death forever damaged the social pillars in Europe. One of the social pillars was how family was, and with a crisis like the plague, family wasn’t the biggest factor in surviving. In the event that the plague was spreading, it scared others and led them to panic.

Read More
386 Words | 2 Pages

The Black Death caused many positive and negative changes in medieval society. Since the Black Death caused such a vast amount of humans to die in a short period, there was a large surplus of food however a shortage of peasants to work the land. This labour shortage meant that serfs were no longer tied to the land and could leave to find higher wages, as said in Chronicle of the Black Death 'such a shortage of workers... scarcely be persuaded to serve the eminent unless for triple wages'. Secondly, because of the upwards mobility and lack of structure that came from the Black Death and the fact that serfs could ask for more pay, feudalism became a lot less prominent in many places and was eventually replaced with other systems, such as capitalism.

Read More
1198 Words | 5 Pages

In the spring of 1348, the most devastating pandemic in European history infected it’s first victim along the coast of Italy. The Bubonic Plague had established a foothold and would continue to rip its way through Europe for the rest of the 14th century. The Bubonic Plague is a vector borne illness that is transmitted by a flea that is typically found on rats. The plague originated in Eastern Asia, but found its way to Europe along trade routes carried by rats on Genoese ships. The Bubonic Plague was extremely devastating to European society in several ways including: major population destruction, harsh invalid accusations, and compounding medical issues.

Read More
311 Words | 2 Pages

They had to pay for rents and taxes. Britannica Students Encyclopedia states, “ Besides providing labor, serfs had to pay taxes to their lord in money or produce.” Serfs were forced to do hard labor to earn money and pay the lords. Due to the fact that the serfs and peasants were poor, they barely ate meat.

Read More
213 Words | 1 Pages

The 16th century wasn’t one of the brightest for the people of the Elizabethan Era. The Black Plague can be at fault for this horrific tragedy. The Black Plague was one of the worst diseases to be ever known to the people in the Elizabethan Era. The main culprit of the spread was the poor hygiene, however, the real species that are the cause of this potential wipeout, are the rats and other infected rodents that resided in the area. In the year of 1563 alone, 20,000 people had died in London, essentially wiping out over two-thirds of its population in a single year.

Read More
1097 Words | 5 Pages

During the mid-fourteenth century, a plague hit Europe. Initially spreading through rats and subsequently fleas, it killed at least one-third of the population of Europe and continued intermittently until the 18th century. There was no known cure at the time, and the bacteria spread very quickly and would kill an infected person within two days, which led to structural public policies, religious, and medical changes in Europe. The plague had an enormous social effect, killing much of the population and encouraging new health reforms, it also had religious effects by attracting the attention of the Catholic Church, and lastly, it affected the trade around Europe, limiting the transportation of goods. As a response to the plague that took place

Read More
1314 Words | 6 Pages

Many peasants died from the disease, probably from their poor diets and lack of nourishment. Workers were in high demand and the peasants knew it. At this time, most pandemics were deadly since there was no medicine or technology. The Black Death was not the only pandemic going around Europe, other diseases include syphilis and gonorrhea.

Read More
208 Words | 1 Pages

The Black Death or Black Plague was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history. Before the Black Death came to England grew more rapidly than agricultural production. They were getting better in their economy. Many people lived only at subsistent level. They were not living lavish or anything just alright.

Read More
463 Words | 2 Pages

The Black Plague, a disease many would agree was both one of the most devastating and poignant events to occur in European History. A time of persecution and suffering, many had to endure the effects that the Black Plague brought with it. Amidst the consequences suffered by those carrying the disease, came the ramifications that those who were not directly affected experienced. 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. The plague caused many to question their religious outlook, the lack of knowledge caused false cures to develop and affected the interactions throughout Europe.

Read More
1263 Words | 6 Pages

Dying in the Valley of Ashes symbolizes the return of Myrtle to her true social class, in the religious burial phrase “ashes to ashes, dust to

Read More

More about Bubonic Plague Chapter 20 Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document