Yersina Plague: The Black Death In Europe

The Black Death first came to Europe in 1347 when 12 trading ships sailed through the Black Sea and docked at port of Messina. When people from the area greeted the ships, they were surprised to find that most of the sailors were either dead or seriously sick. They couldn’t eat and they were burdened with high fever and black boils which secreted puss and even blood, leading to the famous name, “The Black Death.” The ordered the ships to leave the harbor, but the damage had already been done. The disease spread throughout Europe at an alarming rate, killing over 20 million Europeans in a time-span of five years. The Black Death is thought to have originated in rats and flees, spreading to humans through the bite of these animals. It is spread through Yersina Pestis, a highly contagious bacillus that spreads through the air. This method of infection is extremely tough to stop or slow down, especially in the 1300’s. As the Black Death started its reign over Europe it also made its way to North Africa and then Rome and Florence. With modern insight and technology, the Black Death, although still quite horrific, is straightforward and …show more content…
This directly contrasts against the dark times brought on by the Black Death. The religious overtones of the Black Plague were evident in the art of the Renaissance. The spread of this disease and the millions of deaths made people question the church’s heavy emphasis on the afterlife instead of the time people have on Earth. This challenging of religion was one of the main reoccurring themes of the Renaissance. There are even examples such as the Fresco painting The Triumph of Death which depicts the Black Plague as a skeletal solider on a horse, delivering death to people. Pieces of early Renaissance art like this are some of the best evidence the plague was one of the main causes for this revolution in philosophy and