The Role Of The Black Death In The Seventeenth Century

Compared to the outbreaks of modern day, the Black Death was of most extreme measures. The Black Death took place in the 14th century; a time where Christianity was in the process of putting an end to the era of the Crusades and a beginning to Protestantism. Meaning that the people of the Middle Ages, were in the middle of a divergence in faith vs. humanism. I believe it is of most importance to recognize the religious standings during this time period because a main part of human reaction takes place in the subconscious, a place where beliefs are stored (also known as ‘religion’). As shown in many work of arts during this period, artists have aided the people in their rebellious phase against the church and furthered their influence into the start of politics (i.e. …show more content…
Thus far, all was believed to go well, until the Black Death struck in the 1340’s, creating ciaos amongst friends, family, and neighbors. As relatives and other familiar faces started to contract this deadly disease, the familial bonds between people started to become strained. Parents were considering (and even accomplishing) abandoning their young, allowing them to face their fate alone, with no hope of recovery; all hope was lost, and soon people had started to view the situation through a religious standpoint and believe that because of their choices, to enter humanism and the study of arts and sciences, that perhaps the Black Death was a sign from God, of how unhappy He was of their decisions, and thus, called forth punishment (as proven by Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, [025]). It also did not help that the church nor the doctors could be of assistance, thus, leading the people to question their