Wealthy people often left densely populated cities and moved to the countryside to stay safe. Some of our most famous art and literature come from this era of history, and English explorers traveled the globe, spreading their . On a spiritual level, private prayer and penitence, promising to live uprightly if only God would lift his plague, was always a popular response. Around 650 cases of the Plague are still reported each year, although modern medicine is much more equipped to deal with it. Elizabethan Pesthouses were established, a few miles away from the infected areas, where the victims would be sent. 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. During the mid-fourteenth century, a plague hit Europe. The plague ' 'was know by the Great Pestilence, The Great plague, and the Black death ' '(Intro Doc). The secondary pneumonic plague develops out of a bubonic plague. The Black Plague was one of the worst diseases to be ever known to the people in the Elizabethan Era. A preservative against the pestilence It was at pandemic or epidemic proportions in England and Europe for roughly four years. In October 1347, after traveling through the Black Sea, 12 Genoese ships used for trading stopped at the port of Messina. Abandoning the affected ones was the real ecstasy them. Popular medieval scholar Petrarch lost his lady love Laura to Black Death.Black death timeline. Medical treatment for stomach pains and sickness was with wormwood, mint, and balm. It was their custom to douse themselves with vinegar and chew angelica before approaching a victim. Just the sight of an Elizabethan Physician in his strange clothing, especially the weird mask, was enough to frighten anyone to death. One thing is certain, however, as we examine the responses to disease of people living hundreds of years ago: Its not the end of the world. Looking at these orders, it is tempting to think of Elizabethan England as a well-oiled machine where public health is concerned. Loss of lives did decrease the population, changed the demographic structure of the region and hence, shortage of labour was seen as the major crisis there. The Black Death entered south-western England in Summer 1348 and by all accounts struck Bristol with shocking force. The period of recurring. 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. Black rats were the most common at this time, and carried the bacteria called Yersinia pestis, which caused the plague. It was no wonder that the Black Death or Bubonic Plague was so feared by the people of the Elizabethan era. The bubonic plague, known to most as the Black Death, had such a powerfully negative impact upon the witches and warlocks living during this time. In later years houses containing victims were sometimes indicated with a red cross painted on the door with the words "God have Mercy". The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic, which reached England in June 1348. The terrible outbreak of the Black Death made Medieval people look for a link between health and hygiene. 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 Black Plague was incredibly fatal. It started to spread from Eastern China, to Europe in the early 1300s, and it reoccurred multiple times during the years to come. See Also: 10 Facts about Life in Ancient Egypt Facts about Life in Elizabethan England 9: the bread crumbs The Black Death occurred during the Hundred Years War. Sir William Davenant ( possible an illegitimate son of William Shakespeare ) his associates and his career and life in Elizabethan England. The plague bacillus is carried from rat to rat by the bite of the rat flea. A ship had arrived in Europe with many people that had the Black Death. This caused Shakespeare to have a lifelong fear of the disease. No one was sure how the Death spread, and this combined with the fast course the disease took and the primitive medical practices of the time allowed for the disease to spread through the continent in devastating time. There are so many fantastic photographers that visit the shows that we perform at and take absolutely beautiful photographs. The diet was mostly made of beer, milk, cheese and bread. This manifested itself particularly in two ways. The Pestilence. Soon after China, the outbreak of bubonic plague spread all over Europe and Western parts of Asia. Once inside the body, it multiplies rapidly and can cause death within two days without the aid of antibiotics. The rats then spread it to fleas that lived on their . Within a few days, the deadly plague spread in Sicily and other parts of Europe. A famine broke out, and it is now known as the famine before the plague. In response to this, the government passed the Statute of Labourers in 1351 that forced peasants to remain in their homelands and did not allow lords to change their wages from what they were in 1346. Threats of imprisonment were made as encouragement to undertake these tasks and this consequence was suffered by anyone who refused the role. The earthquakes did lead to an increase in the number of rats in the area (some texts even describe "seas of rats" swimming through water or running through the streets). So begins this poem which Nashe wrote in 1593, when an outbreak of bubonic plague closed the London playhouses (Shakespeare would take advantage of the closure to write his narrative poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, and probably most of his sonnets . Plague is the obvious example but it is by no means the only one. During the late 1330s in Europe the population was growing dramatically. In addition to this, lords advised peasants to leave their homelands during the epidemic to come work for them, but also refused to let them return to their original village. It was almost uncontrollable as technological development and advancement in the arena of medicine was really less then. The cover-all clothing would have protected the Elizabethan Physician from fleas and therefore the Black Death / Bubonic Plague. So many times we are tagged in these photos, shared them with friends, or find them randomly online. Want to Read. Even the animals could not escape its deathly hold. It was a descendant of the ancient plague that had afflicted Rome, from 541 to 549 CE, during the time of emperor Justinian. Europeans had reacted in various ways towards the black plague like using it as a means to collect money, strengthen beliefs, & causing deaths. Each parish was commanded to appoint searchers to examine the bodies of the dead and determine how many had died of plague. Households with any infected members were to be quarantined until five weeks after the last sign of infection, and inns and alehouses where infections appeared were ordered to close. If the workers refused to do so or demanded more wages they would be fined and even sent jails. The disease killed people of all classes. These reports were then sent directly to the Privy Council. The Black Death spread extensively through Europe, affecting both nobility and peasants. 1547 Repeal of 1542 Witchcraft during the reign of King Edward VI, the son of Henry VIII, who was more liberal in his thinking about witches and witchcraft. During the 16th century, a young couple in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, lost two of their children to the bubonic plague. By the end of the fourteenth century, the Black Death killed nearly 60% of Europes population. That the London authorities had a pattern of using the threat of contagion as a pretext for shutting undesirables out of town and conveniently forbidding public assembly at times of civil unrest no doubt fed into these concerns. With bubonic being the most common. Elizabethan medical treatment for head pains was with sweet-smelling herbs such as rose, lavender, sage, and bay. The summers and winters were harsh not helping with the crop harvesting. The killer disease also causes red and black spots on the human skin. The Black Death swept through the Middle East and Europe in the years 1346-1353 but it may have begun several decades earlier in the Qinghai Plateau of Central Asia. A perfect vehicle for ensuring the spread of the disease in Elizabethan London. Rodents, fleas and plague-infected people showed up in the major. When, despite the high wages, no new men for this job could be found women and boys, especially those who had recovered from the Bubonic plague (Black Death), were forced to carry out this work. Theatre was extremely popular and only was stopped due to the Black Plague in the 1590s. After the Black Death killed many workers, peasants were in demand for their labor. The monstrous disease seemed to spread evenly through the lightest of touches or through clothing. Even though bubonic plague had existed earlier, namely in parts of Asia, its effects were never as widespread as when it reached Europe through popular trade routes during the mid 1300s. Inadequate hygiene standards added to the problem and spread of the disease. The victim's skin turned black in patches and inflamed glands or 'buboes' in the groin, combined with compulsive vomiting, swollen tongue and splitting headaches made it a horrible, agonizing killer. Everyday people struggle with an illness. Elizabethan farmers and retailers of farm produce, such as animal hides, were in constant danger of contracting the Bubonic plague (Black Death) and this was a deadly consequence of their job. The Black Death Many people aboard the ship were already dead from the disease and the ship was ordered to leave the harbor, but it was too late. The principal ideas underpinning most Elizabethan medical thinking come from Galen, who lived in the second century A.D. Physicians will cite him as an unquestionable authority when they explain to you that your health depends on a balance of the four humors: yellow bile or choler, black bile, phlegm, and blood. Queen Elizabeth I also prohibited the import of foreign goods as a measure to prevent the spread of the disease to the Elizabethan court. The medieval medicines, herbs, and potions were useless against the dark power of bubonic plague. In this way, Elizabeths government could monitor and address major plague outbreaks with relative detail and accuracy. They tried everything they could think of, from blood-letting to rubbing onions on their patients. Survivors of the Black Death felt that they were special, chosen specifically by God to be saved (Trueman), and after this the lower class began to demand more economic and social equality. It was a terrible spectacle and death followed suit. as a substitute for, professional counseling care, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Plague Pits were rapidly dug. Today, we know that there were many causes of the Black Death. Elizabethan England: A huge part of any renaissance era is the arts. Shakespeare's life also overlapped with the Jacobean Era . The bubonic plague was important to the English culture because this disease affected many people in England. . The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign (1558-1603). In the same year, in the month of August, the plague had entered England and the English named it as The Black Death. There was a total lack of a structured sewage system in Elizabethan London. Italian people often used to say that; people had lunch with their friends and had dinner with their ancestors in the paradise. In today people have way better medicines and doctors to be able to help cure illnesses. The cause of the Bubonic plague (Black Death) was unknown during the Elizabethan era so people were not in the position to take proper care or adequate precautions. The summers and winters were harsh not helping with the crop harvesting. Merchant ships and rodents were the two main ways this disease spread and infected humans (The Black Death 1348). People all over Europe believed that this black plague was airborne a disease and hence, were leaving their homes to take shelter in rural remote county sides. Information about the Spread of the Elizabethan Black Death or the Bubonic Plague in Elizabethan EnglandThere were repeated outbreaks of the disease during the Elizabethan era and these outbreaks were often transmitted by the fleas that lived on rodents and animals, especially rats. A time of persecution and suffering, many had to endure the effects that the Black Plague brought with it. LinkedIn. To fully understand diseases during the Elizabethan era, it is vital to understand the cause, type, and treatment of the illnesses that were common during that time period. The plague full swift goes by; I am sick, I must die Lord, have mercy on us! Does the Black Plague Still Exist? The black plague was not only a biological issue but also a mental issue as people then was really panic stricken and did isolate the affected ones. The Black Death was not the only pandemic going around Europe, other diseases include syphilis and gonorrhea. First arriving in Europe through sick merchants on Genoese trading ships that docked in Sicily, the plague caused boils, fever, diarrhea, horrible pain, and shortly, death. Trade connections got weakened. These assemblies were empowered to levy emergency taxes on the towns and villages of their respective counties in order to fund relief efforts, to appoint officials to collect and disburse these aid funds to affected communities, and to impose and enforce further preventative and relief measures as they saw fit. Statistics show that 1000 people died weekly in mid August, 1600 per week in September, and 1800 per week in October. The Black Death was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s. The plague attacked and kill around 25% and 45% of the societies it touch and/or encountered.The plague was made of three bacterial strains which created the three plagues called bubonic, pneumonic, and septimic. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); In the Elizabethan era therewas pestilence and repeated outbreaks of the Bubonic plague (Black Death) and these were not just confined to highly populated towns such as London. It made its way to Europe on trade and cargo ships, traveling on the backs of rats stowed away on the ships. Innumerable cows, sheep, pigs, goats, and chickens perished along with people. Elizabethan Medicine was extremely basic in an era when terrible illnesses such as the Bubonic Plague (Black Death ) were killing nearly one third of the population. The trade connections in the past among China, India, central Asia and Europe were the main reason behind spreading of this terrific disease. For most people, contact with someone who had the Plague could lead to their own infection and death within the week. There was no town cleansing department in the Elizabethan era. But their gruesome job entitled them to receive a good supply of alcohol. Abandoning the affected ones was the real ecstasy them. The Black Death was the second pandemic of bubonic plague and the most devastating pandemic in world history. Also, they were covered in mysterious black boils that oozed blood and pus and gave their illness its name: the Black Death.. The fever started spreading soon all over the European nations , especially Italy and England and hence , people started calling this as the black death ; black being the colour of negative vibe and ominous aspects . The plague caused many to question their religious outlook, the lack of knowledge caused false cures to develop and affected the interactions throughout Europe. Popular medieval scholar Petrarch lost his lady love Laura to Black Death. Nevertheless, it is illuminating to see the ways that these people over three hundred years ago grappled with the fear and uncertainty of virulent disease. 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. It is widely believed that Bristol was the place where the Black Death first reached England. At this time, most pandemics were deadly since there was no medicine or technology. Click here for more information on Elizabethan England, World and Medieval History of the Black Death and Bubonic Plague - How the disease spread and Nationalities affected, Black Death and Bubonic Plague - Modern day symptoms, cure and medical treatment. 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