Cause: Spread of plague in Central Asia
In the early 14th century, plagues spread westward in small central Asian towns, appeared in the Black Sea region in 1346, and then spread across the European continent, entering England with trade activities.
In 1348, the plague struck England, and London alone lost half of its population, the first great plague in English history.
How this plague appeared has become a historical mystery, and one can only know roughly about its outbreak in Central Asia, spreading westward along caravans, lurking on rats and fleas, and following the trade of the people, taking a boat to the British Isles.
The plague landed at the crowded British docks and spread from the southeast to the entire island.
The plague soon reached London, the heart of England.
London in the 14th century was home to a large number of craftsmen and merchants, the houses were crowded, the population was dense, the whole city had no sewers, and any livestock excrement was everywhere, and this dirty environment happened to be a breeding ground for disease, and once it broke out, the momentum was extremely violent.
A priest once recorded; The disease is so severe that more than 200 bodies are buried every day.
Prior to this, the London Magistrates' Court processed more than 20 wills a year, and after the plague arrived, the number of wills certified in a day was equivalent to the amount of the previous year, and in severe cases, it was four times that of the previous year, but more people did not have the opportunity to make a will, and often fell suddenly while chatting.
▲ The Great Plague of the 14th century spread throughout the world
At this time, Christians wear sackcloth, walk barefoot to the church, and as they walk, they continue to beat themselves with a leather whip, and at this time they have to repent with their hearts until the blood flows all over their bodies.
What is this for?
At that time, Europeans believed that this was God punishing mankind, that people deserved it. King Edward III also specifically informed the whole country that the punishment in the history of this plague had been sent from heaven. During this period, the Hundred Years' War between England and France was also suspended.
At this time, the church became the protagonist on the stage of history.
All the religious leaders of the parishes prayed, held special Mass ceremonies, led the inhabitants in humble processions, and there were places where little girls were brought out in the hope that the children would arouse the compassion of the gods.
But these devout prayers did not calm God's wrath.
Less than half a year after the plague began in late 1348, there was only one man left alive in st. James's abbey in London, and all the friars and nuns had contracted the disease and died.
Priests often had to go around reaching out to the people, listening to prayers, presiding over ceremonies, and were highly contagious, so priests became very scarce, and priests were hired in various parishes.
Sometimes I really can't find it, so I let ordinary people take the role, many halfway clergy can't even understand the Bible, and sometimes they take the Bible upside down to explain to people, basically playing by themselves.
In order to get higher pay, the priests went to work wherever they had more money, fabricated strange phenomena and sent them to the church, and embezzled relief funds.
The English poet lang gran wrote a poem at the time: "Sing the Mass of the Requiem for the sake of salary, because silver is sweet." "
▲ Peter Bölsengele Sr. painting "The Dirty Profits of Death"
There was a great rift in the trust in the church, and other efforts were initiated.
Doctors make people have diarrhea, vomiting, and bleeding, hoping to get rid of the disease. Because the church abhors bloodshed, barbers often work part-time as surgeons.
The Church was helpless during the Black Death, and the physician further developed as an independent profession.
How did they treat the Black Death?
The Black Death destroys the human lymphatic system, causing the lymph nodes to swell and ulcerate, and people burn these lumps or wash them with urine.
Bizarrely, they would also put dry toads on lumps.
To protect themselves, people wear isolation suits and cover their faces with face coverings. This is the slightly eerie bird's beak costume we see, with a protruding part of the front section of the mask, which is illuminated with strong smelling herbs, which blocks the infection to some extent.
This bird's beak mask later became a typical symbol of the Black Death period.
▲ A man with a bird's beak mask during the Great Temperate Epidemic of the 14th century
At this time, people's contradictions are also wrapped in the outbreak of epidemics.
The first unlucky were the Jews, who were mostly in business, wandering around, and were initially hostile to the locals because of religious and financial problems, and were now considered to be spreading the Black Death.
It was believed that when the Jews disappeared, the plague would also disappear, so countless Jews were expelled or slaughtered, becoming scapegoats for the disease.
It was the Scots who were looking for trouble.
Scotland, which was originally located in the north, was relatively empty and did not have much contact with England, and when they heard that England had suffered the Black Death, the Scots were elated, thinking that this was a good opportunity to counterattack England, and they reorganized their army and rushed to the south.
Later, everyone knew the result, and Scotland fell into the clutches of the plague.
Seven or eight years later, the plague, as it came, mysteriously disappeared, but it brought about a sweeping change in English society, the authority of the church was greatly damaged, and new cultural ideas were about to break ground.
The Black Death took a large part of the population, and the British later issued decrees to force people to work without increasing wages, and then raised funds for the war, increased taxes, and in 1381 the English peasants launched an uprising.
Conclusion: The Black Death took away a large number of people, hit the economy of England hard, and also made people suspicious of the authority of the church, and accelerated the pace of modernization.
The next issue deals with the formation of the British aristocratic system. Follow me and get more historical knowledge in your pocket