The Bubonic Plague: The Crisis Of The Middle Ages

“The Crisis of the Middle Ages” was a period of immense stress in Europe during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, caused by a variety of reasons. A crisis is a period of extreme stress within an area, in which any wrong move could lead to imminent change for either good or bad. The first element which comprised the Crisis of the Middle Ages were political disputes, both between states and within the states. Another aspect of the Crisis of the Middle Ages was the Bubonic Plague that swept across Europe. Together with these political disputes and economic recession, during the Crisis of the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was in turmoil which negatively affected both the institution and all of Europe. Political disputes, the Black Death, and the Catholic Church in chaos were prominent features of what is considered the Crisis of the Middle Ages.

Political disputes, both within states

The Black Death or Bubonic Plague was a plague that originated in Asia and spread to Europe first to Sicily in 1347, and then across all of Europe where it raged until around 1352, however, it never completely went away. Wherever it went as its name implies, the Black Plague reaped men like wheat, with an estimated thirty-three percent of the population dying. The states of Northern Italy were hit especially hard by the Bubonic Plague since it had a much higher urban population, which unfortunately led to a higher proportion of the population dying. Contemporary writers such as the prominent Florentine Boccaccio wrote that the plague killed an infinite number of people. This massive loss of life severely negatively affected the economy of all of Europe and resulted in a massive economic downturn that Europe would not recover for decades following. The Black Death is a major reason as to why the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries are considered the crises of the Middle