The History of Plague - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1751 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/07/01 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Black Death Essay Did you like this example? The 14th century was an era of catastrophes. One such catastrophe was a pandemic which threw medieval Europe into turmoil: The Black Death. In 1347, The Black Death began spreading throughout Western Europe. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The History of Plague" essay for you Create order Over the time of four years, the plague killed one third of the population in Europe with an estimated 25 million people dead. The Black Death killed more Europeans than any other endemic or war up to that time, greatly impacting the Church, family life, and the economy. These three social pillars were changed forever. The Black Death demonstrated in dramatic fashion the existence of new vulnerabilities in Western European society. It subjected the population of medieval Europe to tremendous strains, leading many people to challenge old institutions and doubt traditional values, and, by so doing, these calamities altered the path of European development in many areas. One of the effects of the black plague was the devastating effect it had on the Church. Before the Black Death hit Europe, almost all things, especially elements of daily life, were under the influence of the church. The Church throughout Europe had nearly absolute power. However, once the plague hit, people believed it to be a punishment of God. They turned to the Church for help. But since the priests and bishops could not actually offer a cure or even an explanation, the Church lost a lot of its influence and for many people, their view of the world changed drastically. The plague shook peoples confidence in conventional beliefs and authority (Zahler 33). The people blamed God for the occurrence of the plague and they thought it was a punishment of their sins. Quickly, the Church began to suffer. Before the plague, the Church had thousands of followers. When tragedy struck, the people strayed from the Church and blamed them for the plague. The Church had no explanation for the outrage, so the people were infuriated. The people thought of the Church as omniscient, so when the priests and bishops could not give them the answers they wanted, the Church began losing spiritual authority over its people. As the Church lost spiritual authority, the clergy of the Church began leaving. About sixty percent of the clergy abandoned their Christian duties and fled. The monasteries and the clergy suffered the greatest loss (Zahler 215). Many of the Churches finest leaders were quitting and some even moved far away to avoid the problems they were facing. Since man y head officials were parting, the Church panicked and began aggressively recruiting others to fill the ranks. As the Monks, Nuns, and Friars continued to disappear, the standards for their replacements lowered. This caused the monasteries to be run by less educated people, leading to a decline of vernacular. As the Church weakened, the peoples hope declined. The commoners prayers were not working and the Church had lost almost all its respect and authority over its followers. The survivors were outraged at the doctors who did not cure the patients. The plague was prime factor in peoples turning to new influences in a search for meaning and positive values (Zahler 57). Since they believed God was punishing them, the people turned in hope of finding something new to believe in. One way people turned to cope with the Black Death was to become part of the flagellants, a group of religious zealots who demonstrated their religious fervor and sought atonement for their sins by vigorously whipping themselves in public displays of penance. Despite condemnation by the Church, the movement gained strength as the Black Death grew, and the Church was powerless to stop them. More people began questioning the Church. The Church was critiqued on a daily basis, and people began to treasure worldly things and turned their backs on God. Another devastating effect the plague had was the abandonment of family life as well as persecution of Jews. In hopes of survival, many began to abandon what they had and moved to villages and country sides in hope of fleeing from the disease. Children abandoned the father, husband abandoned the wife, wife the husband, one brother the other, one sister the other. Some fled to villas, others to villages in order to get a change in air. Where there had been no [plague], there they carried it; if it was already there, they caused it to increase (Zahler 45). People often left those who they cared about to fend for themselves. Since the cities were more populated, those who left for the country carrie d the disease with them and infected those who previously lived on the countryside. The Black Death created a race for survival and all were playing. In addition, one question that was raised by the people of Europe was who to blame for the Black Death. They had already lost their faith in church, and as they continued to run from the plague, the people of Europe felt that they needed to blame someone for causing the outrage. At this time in history, Christians persecuted Jews in Europe and blamed them for bad luck and even bad weather. As the plague attacked, whispers immediately started about poisonings of wells and of the air by Jews (Zahler 63). The European Christians of the time were racist towards the Jews. The Jews were forbidden to work in government and were shunned from the towns. This forced them to live on the outskirts of town in places called ghettos. Because of their isolation, the plague did not reach them immediately. Since they were not getting sick, the people automatically assumed the Jews were poisoning their wells as payback for their isolation. The Jews were thought to be irrational and were thought of as scapegoats. However, once the Jews began to fall sick from the plague as well, people began to show their responses in other ways. Artists and musicians of the time became dark and seemingly depressed. Before the plague, the music was up-beat and frequently heard while the artwork was frequently viewed. However, during the plague music was played very grimly and the art became somber. The ar tists were surrounded by the horrific nature of the Black Death. Some artists tried to translate the terror and sadness into their art and music. Many of those artist left alive created paintings and woodcuts that showed an angry God and sometimes demon-like creatures shooting arrows of plague in towns (Zahler 91). These artists used their works to escape and to deal with what was happening in their current lives and reflect on the way they were feeling. Since many people went into depression, they began to lose the beauty of art and music they once had. The somber change in art and music showed the change in the world around them. People of the time became obsessed with the culture of death, and they demonstrated this every day. As the towns obsession dwindled towards death, the children were left behind. Many believed the end of the world had come, so the views on children began to change as people lost sight of their loved ones. But there were others they had forgottenthe children. They were by all means frequent receivers of the disease and it killed them almost instantly or within a few hours (Zahler 19). The children in plague infested towns had premature exposures which allowed for the disease to affect them physically and mentally. Once infected, the parents of the children would abando n them on the streets instead because many could not bear to watch them die. The females who contracted the plague were especially disregarded because they could not carry on the family name for generations to come. The children could not provide for themselves, so they suffered greatly. As everyday life and religious values were breaking down, the economy also changed drastically so that a new economic system emerged. Many people turned towards the lords of their manor with the hopes they could provide support and an answer to the madness that was occurring. In Europe in the 1300s, feudalism was very common. However, massive loss of lives reduced the number of workers, and as a result, surviving workers were able to demand higher wages and greater independence, which contributed to the collapse of the feudal system. This was a common scenario, since many lives were taken daily, and with the population dropping quickly, the few that survived were able to demand more. The agrarian economy was damaged and had reached the point where it appeared to be almost prevented from recovery (Zahler 87). With feudalism declining, finding skilled workers was a challenge. Since there were few workers, it meant there would be less food which could be harvested, leading to a decline in the food supply. The few that survived could not produce enough food for the towns and cities, and those that could not get food died. Also, since finding people with skill was more valuable than ever, the land was not properly taken care of. The crops were abandoned and many died of starvation. The maintenance of the land rapidly declined leaving the economy in a severe condition. Lastly, trade between countries declined. People refused to have any form of interaction with each other, which led to a decline in goods being bought and exchanged. By 1350, the plague began waning off slowly. The immediate consequence of the Black Death was a massive reduction of the population; however, the plague also had many long term effects. The most significant result was the loss of the churchs authority over the population of Europe. In addition, the economic system of feudalism was destroyed, which led to workers asking for higher wages. Lastly, family life was significantly altered as peop le abandoned each other in hopes of saving themselves, and blamed others causing social unrest. All of these factors contributed to Europes period of reduced prosperity. During the middle ages, the plague was known as all-destroying. One third of Europes population was reduced over a period of three years with considerable changes to its economy, church life, and family life. Through these losses, a tiny insect toppled Europes social structure and altered medieval society forever. WORKS CITED 1) Black Death. History.com. AE Television Networks, 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2018. 2) Damen, Mark. 1320: Section 6: The Black Death. 1320: Section 6: The Black Death. Utah State University, 2015. Web. 16 Nov. 2018. 3) Meissner, Daniel J. The Black Death. The Black Death. Marquette University, n.d. Web. 16 Nov 2018. 4) Zahler, Diane. The Black Death. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century, 2009. Print. 5) Cohn, Samuel Kline. The Black Death Transformed: Disease and Culture in Early Renaissance Europe. London: Arnold, 2002. Print.

Analysis Of Edgar Allan Poe s The Tell Tale Heart

What honestly makes a novel gothic? Is it the madness, the horror or the secrets hidden in the story line that does it? Individually when each of you close your eyes and visualise a book that has been flicked by hundreds and has been adored what comes to mind? The famous Edgar Allan Poe stands out in the history of gothic texts, especially his novel the â€Å" Tell-Tale Heart†. However there is a numerous amount of contemporary texts based off this genre including Tim Burton’s â€Å" Vincent†. In this presentation I hope to engage you in the history of the gothic genre. Gothic fiction is a genre of writing that joins components of both awfulness and sentiment. The genre became one of the most popular of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The†¦show more content†¦An anonymous storyteller opens the â€Å"Tell-Tale Heart† by saying that he is anxious and not crazy. He says that he will recount a story in which he will help prove his sanity yet admit to having slaughtered an old man. His killin was not for cash, yet rather a hatred towards the man s light blue eye. Once more, he demands that he is not insane on the grounds that his cool and measured activities, however criminal, are not those of a crazy person. Consistently, he went to the old man s flat and covertly watched the man dozing. In the morning, he would carry on as though everything were ordinary. Following seven days of this movement, the storyteller chooses randomly, that the time is correct to kill the old man. As a review in distrustfulness, this story enlightens the mental disagreements that add to a dangerous profile. A deserted setting is a tradition in the Gothic genre and is appeared in the Tell-Tale Heart: In the midst of the terrifying quiet of that old house A surrendered setting is every now and again used as a setting in the Gothic genre as it simple to use this setting to make an environment of peril, dread and concern. The Victorians are reflected in this tradition, as they were feeling deserted and secluded after their convictions and religion. Another tradition is high emotion, â€Å"very very dreadfully nervous† We see that the storyteller here is extremely anxious demonstrating to us his high feelings inside the story and giving an environmentShow MoreRelatedAn Analysis Of Edgar Allan Poe s The Tell Tale Heart 1015 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Insane in the Membrane† Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most acclaimed short story writers of all time and is considered the father of the psychological thriller. He has achieved ever-lasting fame for his work in various fields of literature, from prose to verse. However, it is his Gothic narrative, in the short story realm he is greatest known for and is regarded as one of the foremost masters of horror that the United States has ever fashioned. 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Movie Paper Review Free Essays

Michelle Jones Green block 3 1/28/13 Movie Paper Review: The Boy in Striped Pajamas The Boy in Striped Pajamas is a book that was made into a movie, set during World War Two and more specifically, the Holocaust. The book was written by John Boyne and when made into a movie was directed by Mark Herman and produced by David Heyman. The Boy in Striped Pajamas was made in 2006 and starred Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, and Vera Farmiga. We will write a custom essay sample on Movie Paper Review or any similar topic only for you Order Now I read the book, The Boy in Striped Pajamas in 8th grade and watched to movie very soon after. The Boy in Striped Pajamas is based on the horrors of a World War Two Nazi Extermination Camp. This movie is through the eyes of two 8 year old boys; one whose father is a Nazi camp commandant and the other is a Jewish inmate. Bruno, the son of the Nazi commandant and his family just recently moved from Berlin to the countryside; which happens to have a Nazi Extermination Camp right nearby. The adventurous Bruno finds an unguarded fence where he meets and befriends Shmuel, a Jewish boy. Bruno soon learns the horrors of the war and so does his mother. When Bruno’s father announces that the young boy and his mother will be going to live with their aunt in Heidelberg, Bruno grabs a shovel and makes his way to the camp to meet up with his friend, leading the movie into an awful sequence of events. None of the characters in this movie were real people but they were all accurate depictions of the soldiers and everyone at that time. The movie very accurately showed the differences in living being a Jew and living in the camps compared to everyone else. It also shows a child’s innocence and how children sometimes see the world completely different than adults, sometimes even in a better way. Bruno never saw anything wrong or different about Jewish people but his older sister Gretchen was being influenced by her tutor and a younger soldier to believe things she couldn’t fully understand. The movie showed the terrible things being done to the people in the Nazi camps and how propaganda was used to make uninformed people believe things that weren’t true. The movie accurately shows how live was in that time. The beginning of The Boy in Striped Pajamas was set in Berlin in 1942 during World War Two, Bruno and his family are moving to the countryside because of his father’s work. The setting then is never specified but we know it is near a Nazi Extermination Camp. The props in this movie were all very accurate and the lighting and way the shooting was done portrayed the devastating times that were during the Holocaust. The Boy in Striped Pajamas is a very good movie and a very accurate movie too. The actors playing the young 8 year old boys did an awesome job playing those parts especially at such a young age. The soldiers also did well playing Nazi’s and being very stern people. Overall this movie is a very accurate representation or what life was like during World War Two while adding its own plot and I would recommend this movie to anyone who would like to see what it was like for Jewish people and families of the soldier’s during the Holocaust. How to cite Movie Paper Review, Essay examples