The Great Mortality
Essay Preview: The Great Mortality
Report this essay
“The Great Mortality occasioned one of the most vicious out breaks of anti-semetic violence in European History” People were scared, angry, and there was not anyone that they could “blame” all of what was happening on any certain person, but that didnt stop them from trying. A man by the name of Rabbi Jacobs was accused of poisoning everyone with the plague. He did this by putting it into the well of the town or city. Without the knowledge of disease people would make up stories like this in order for them to understand their surroundings.
“Medieval Europeans knew that whenever bad things happened to Christians, the Jews were to blame” These rumors spread like wildfire, almost as fast as the plague itself. Because of the knowledge that Christians had, it made for an easy target.
Another behavior of Europeans was to become a Flagellant. These people would publicly beat themselves thinking that this was a way to rid them of the evil that was causing all of the deaths. Flagellants would roam Europe doing these performances. A lot of people started to repel these people after a while; many nobles banned them and did not allow them to demonstrate in the streets. Finally “a year later, the Flagellants had vanished as suddenly as they had come, like night phantoms or mocking ghosts.”
The plague made its way back into Russia through Scandinavia and Norway into Moscow where it finished its journey. “On a glorious morning Christendom awoke to find the plague gone.” With the end of the plague the aftermath came with not only the good but also some bad. People had more time now, they were not in fear all the time of when they were going to die. Instead they took their time and used it for things that they had learned to cherish. The poor people of pre-plague Europe had a better chance of life after the plague than most.
Due to the theory of supply and demand, people who used to work for a little amount of money now have the ability to ask for more money and receive it. This allowed the lower class to start living at a higher standard. Also people started to “give themselves over to the most disordered and sordid behavior.” This shows that many people werent worrying as much as before.
On the downside after the plague the average life expectancy dropped dramatically. This could have been caused by the drop of immunities of the common people. Also due to the increase in the cost of labor it caused a great amount of inflation. Many changes were brought about after the Great Mortality ravaged its way around Asia and Europe. Many things wouldnt be the same in Europe for a very long time because of it.