During the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries the spread of the plague struck society with a variety of responses throughout Europe. First, fear caused the fabric of society to crumble apart with the upper, middle, and lower classes to leave behind their regular activities and the rich to flee towards safety. Second, people of all classes began moving toward religion and the church as salvation from the plague. Third, theologians and physicians strived to find the causes of this wretched disease and to use their knowledge to treat others around them. But just as any other outbreak in the land the first instinct is to fear for the worst.
The largest of all responses during the plague was fear and it caused all the people to abandon their …show more content…
Versoris, an author in 1523, stated that as soon as the plague hit the rich fled the cities for safety leaving the poor to suffer and die at the hand of the plague (Doc 3). Versoris allowed us to see that the rich used their money and influence to be selfish and escape the plague, leaving the helpless lower class to suffer. In Versoris’ position the reader can see that he was well educated and most likely wealthy which lets us understand that he may have been apart of the people who fled the cities and that he now feels guilty for leaving behind the poor to die a painful death. The amount of fear that was in these people that caused them to leave their families and friends just to escape is so immense that the rich came to a state of thinking only of themselves and how they will survive. The fear caused them to abandon their own people just to live another day. Due to Versoris we are allowed to see how much fear the plague caused that people left behind their humanly ways of love and caring for others. This extreme amounts of fear are shown greatly through the eyes of Wallington, a puritan in 1625, who began asking himself, “who’s next?”(Doc 8). He feared for him and his …show more content…
One of these men such happened to be Erasmus of Rotterdam, a theologian in 1512. He went around the towns and came to a realization that the plague was due to the extensive amounts of filth and dirt in the streets (Doc 2). Due to Erasmus’s findings, many other physicians, authors, and more began looking for causes and how to treat the plague. For Erasmus it is again very unusual that a theologian would look for the natural cause and not the religious one. A man like him would use God as an explanation for the people. This became a time of not fearing the plague, but a time of how to stop and overcome its wickedness. Another man named Johann Weyer who was a physician in 1583, found out that people were trying to spread the plague and one of these ways was by smearing the city gates with filth and germs to spread the plague more throughout the people (Doc 4). This allowed Weyer to know that it was the peoples utmost importance to stay clean and that would keep them healthy from the plague. Keeping a good hygiene, although tough for the people of this time, became very serious and would be one smart way to avoid sickness. Since good hygiene was seen as a type of prevention, a physician in 1647, H. de Rochas, saw that hanging toads from victims necks helped draw out the poison of the plague (Doc 10). This was another
The largest of all responses during the plague was fear and it caused all the people to abandon their …show more content…
Versoris, an author in 1523, stated that as soon as the plague hit the rich fled the cities for safety leaving the poor to suffer and die at the hand of the plague (Doc 3). Versoris allowed us to see that the rich used their money and influence to be selfish and escape the plague, leaving the helpless lower class to suffer. In Versoris’ position the reader can see that he was well educated and most likely wealthy which lets us understand that he may have been apart of the people who fled the cities and that he now feels guilty for leaving behind the poor to die a painful death. The amount of fear that was in these people that caused them to leave their families and friends just to escape is so immense that the rich came to a state of thinking only of themselves and how they will survive. The fear caused them to abandon their own people just to live another day. Due to Versoris we are allowed to see how much fear the plague caused that people left behind their humanly ways of love and caring for others. This extreme amounts of fear are shown greatly through the eyes of Wallington, a puritan in 1625, who began asking himself, “who’s next?”(Doc 8). He feared for him and his …show more content…
One of these men such happened to be Erasmus of Rotterdam, a theologian in 1512. He went around the towns and came to a realization that the plague was due to the extensive amounts of filth and dirt in the streets (Doc 2). Due to Erasmus’s findings, many other physicians, authors, and more began looking for causes and how to treat the plague. For Erasmus it is again very unusual that a theologian would look for the natural cause and not the religious one. A man like him would use God as an explanation for the people. This became a time of not fearing the plague, but a time of how to stop and overcome its wickedness. Another man named Johann Weyer who was a physician in 1583, found out that people were trying to spread the plague and one of these ways was by smearing the city gates with filth and germs to spread the plague more throughout the people (Doc 4). This allowed Weyer to know that it was the peoples utmost importance to stay clean and that would keep them healthy from the plague. Keeping a good hygiene, although tough for the people of this time, became very serious and would be one smart way to avoid sickness. Since good hygiene was seen as a type of prevention, a physician in 1647, H. de Rochas, saw that hanging toads from victims necks helped draw out the poison of the plague (Doc 10). This was another