Rediscovery: The Black Death Of The Renaissance

With the massive death that the Coronavirus has brought to the world, it’s hard to forget that there is a disease from another time period that was much worse. The Renaissance was a rebirth of Greek and Roman culture that happened in a time period after the Middle Ages from the 14th century to the 17th. The Renaissance sparked the rediscovery of many lost parts of Greek and Roman culture that are still prevalent today such as art, literature, food, philosophy, architecture, and more. Even though this time period was a major step in the right direction for humanity, there was one problem: The Black Death. While its origin is unknown still to this date, the symptoms of this horrifying disease include fever, chills, vomiting, diarrhea, terrible

First of all, a massive spike in Anti-Semitism occurred, as people blamed Jews for the disease, leading to widespread violence and massacre and the death of thousands of Jews(Byrne). The widespread massacres of Jews around Renaissance Europe added to the fire in the conflict between Christans and Jews and also worsened prejudices against Jews. Instead of blaming another religion, "Some Christians became more pious, believing that their piety might endear them to a God who they believed had sent the plague to punish them for their sins”(Woodville). Since Christians felt as if the outbreak was a punishment from God, they wanted to repent and appease his anger. Unfortunately, they did this through whipping themselves and flooding the streets, including grotesque public events, in which people would whip themselves to appease God’s anger and receive forgiveness(Bryne). In contrast, many just gave up on their religion and lived the rest of their lives for pleasures and wants, as they felt as if the Plague was a sign of freedom(Woodville). The people who gave up on their religion varied greatly, including Nuns, Priests, Women, Men, and Monks. The religious impacts on the individual level also greatly reflected upon the church, showing the same contrast. Because of the people who became even more religious and wanted to repent before they died, the church gained lots of power on a property and monetary scale and also took advantage of the turmoil Renaissance Europe was experiencing and took a stand to assert Christianity as the dominant religion(“Sickness and Disease”). On the other hand, the shift in attitude towards religion after feeling the Black Death was a sign of freedom took away lots of power from the church because more and more people were abandoning their Christian faith, making the church’s authority and influence