The Late Middle Ages

1. The Bubonic Plague aka The Black Death The Late Middle Ages

2. Introduction • The Black Death • 1348-1350 • Swept Europe and took about two-fifths of the population • Transformed many pious Christians into believers in the great power of Death

3. The Black Death • Background • 9/10 of the population worked the land • As the supply of food grew so did the population but. . . • Now there is not enough food to feed the people nor jobs • The Struggle is already real and now we are going to add the black death on top of all their troubles

4. The Black Death • Where did it come from????? • Trade Routes • From Asia into Europe • Spread by the fleas that lived on the rats that were on ships • Entered Europe through ports in places like Venice, Genoa, and Pisa and then swept rapidly into Europe

5. Black Death • Popular Remedies • The disease would start in the lungs and cause sneezing and wheezing where it would then spread from person to person • Catastrophe with no explanation and no known defense • Poisonous fumes released by earthquakes – one idea

6. Black Death • Popular Remedies Cont. • Aromatic amulets that were worn around the neck • Some would live a life of moderation while others would give in to their passions • Flight and Seclusion was probably the best method people took • Flagellants was an option • Religious fanatics would beat themselves in penance • The dirty bleeding bodies may have spread the disease • The church finally outlawed the beatings

7. Black Death • Social and Economic Consequences • Whole villages vanished, labor supply declined, and the value of the estates diminished • Farms Declining • Farm laborers decreased while skilled artisans rose • Agriculture products were not in demand but luxury items were • Rents declined after the plague • Why stay on a farm which cannot pay well?

8. Black Death • Peasants Revolt • Landowners began converting arable land to sheep pastures • Abandoned farms to the highest bidder • Restrictions • English Parliament passed laws that limited wages to pre-plague levels and restricted their ability to leave the land

9. Black Death • Cities Rebound • Cities prospered because of skilled artisans • Laws that were made for the cities were extended to those surrounding areas • Expensive clothing and jewelry were in high demand • The country workers migrated from the countryside to the city and learn new work

10. Black Death • New Conflicts and Opportunities • Merchants and Patrician classes were having trouble maintaining their traditional dominance • Guild masters were given voices in the government • Restrictions caused conflicts • Master artisans wanted to keep their numbers low and expand industry at a snail’s pace

11. Black Death • Dealing with Death • “Dance of the Death” • Reminded rich and poor, young and old of mortality • Two sides emerged • Overpopulated medieval society that was facing death • Abstinence, late marriage, birth control, and diplomacy

12. Black Death • Life was a progressive dying and death was a promise of everlasting death • Almost everyone, by the time they reached teens and adulthood, suffered from some chronic illness, debilitating condition, or life threatening infections • Lorenzo de’ Medici • Early Twenties he suffered from leg ulcers and syphilis • 25 years old he received a head wound that was treated by boring holes into his skull– he also developed an abscessed foot that did not heal • 26 years old he had chills, fever, diarrhea, vomiting, joint pains, and anorexia – he died a short while later due to tuberculosis

13. Black Death • Dealing with Death • Life was horrible cont. • Frederick III rolled about his castle on a primitive wheel chair while he suffered from kidney stones • He later died from a septic infection and kidney failure because the stones were too numerous and too large to pass • Afflictions allowed people to find themselves between God and the physicians • People feared both dying and dying out of God’s grace • Priests guided the dead through purgatory assisted through indulgences and masses • Church sacraments and commemorations exploited and eased the feared passage into eternity