Essay On The Plague Dbq

The plague raged throughout Europe from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century evoking various responses from the people who experienced its terror. It affected all regions of Europe, killing one-third of the population. Various responses to the plague expressed different beliefs and concerns including exploitation, fear, and religious superstition. During the course of the plague these beliefs and concerns underwent change. During the outbreak of the plague fear dominated Europe, and as time passed fear became more irrational and superstitious. The plague stuck fear in many because people during the time did not have the scientific knowledge to understand the plague. People feared traveling in public, especially in highly populated areas,

There were very few who dared to travel long distances, but exceptions existed (Doc 12). Physicians and scholars were unable to identify the cause of the plague and therefore developed false reasons for its spread. Erasmus of Rotterdam, a Dutch humanist and classical scholar, demonstrated this by blaming the plague on unsanitary conditions in cities (Doc 2). Johann Weyer, a German physician, gave a more outlandish explanation for the plague, people “smeared the bolts of the town gates with an ointment to spread the plague” (Doc 4). Common people also began to draw false conclusions on how the plague was spread out of fear. For example bureaucrats, who commonly wore wigs as a sign of status, refused to buy wigs during the time “for fear of infection, that the hair had been cut of the head of people dead of the plague” (Doc 13). Fear resulted in chaos, and governments took violent precautions to control the

The lack of legitimate scientific knowledge caused people to seek alternative answers. Superstitious beliefs both religious helped to alleviate fear. Many believed that the plague was punishment for their sins and turned to the church for repentance. Flagellantism became a trending movement during the time, and thousands of citizens gathered in processions, whipping themselves as a way of repenting. Feeling powerless, the majority of Europeans turned to the church for hope, especially the poor, who did not have the resources to flee the city like the rich, and were the most affected by the plague (Doc 3). An example of one of these people was Nehemiah Wallington, a devout English Puritan, who expresses the idea of uncertainty and powerlessness best in his diary entry in which he meditates on how he could lose his entire family to the plague without being able to do anything to stop it (Doc 8). Saints were venerated during the plague because of the alluring idea that they could be called upon to cure people. Superstitious rituals involving relics of saints were popular because these relics were thought to cause miracles. For example, Lisabetta Centenni claimed that “Sister Angelica del Macchia, prioress at Crocetta, sent [her] a little piece of bread that had touched the body of St. Somenica,” which alleviated her husbands fever after he ate it (Doc 7). Saints gave people hope that there was a way to actively combat the plague. The