Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down
" I buried with my own hands five of my children in a single grave. No bells. No tears. This is the end of the world." (Deaux, 1969) These are the words of Italian author Agniol diTura, but they reflect the emotions of an entire nation in the 1300's. It was at that time thatEurope was struck by the hardest blow that a plague would ever swing. The Bubonic Plague hitEurope with a ferocity that could never have been predicted. The spread of the Bubonic Plague in the fourteenth century happened quickly as a resultof poor living conditions, trade routes and ignorance of the disease. The first reported case of theplague was in 543 when it hit Constantinople. (Hecker, 1992) This was a minor outbreak andthere were others similar to it, but since no one knew where it came from and so few were dyingfrom it, no one took the time to find out. But then in 1334, an epidemic struck the northeasternChinese province of Hopei that people couldn't ignore. It killed up to 90% of the population-around 5,000,000 people. (Armstrong, 1981) This caught people's attention, but by then it was Sadly, some of the events that aided the rapid spread of the Pla
(Strayer, 1972) Despite the efforts of city officials, the plague continued to spread. Some people felt that the plague had come as a form of punishment from God. The natives of the area pointed the blame for theircurse at the Italian traders who traveled in and out of their ports. (Garrett, 1994) The swellings appeared because once a person becameinfected, the bacillus, Yersina pestis, made its way into the lymph nodes. This ritual would occur atleast once a day for three days before the group would move on to the next village where theywould being again, hopefully increasing their numbers ( Biel, 1989). But other parts of theworld are not so fortunate. (Armstrong, 1981) These parties were easy to find because everyone behaved as if they weregoing to die soon, so they cared nothing about themselves nor their belongings. With five days of oral antibiotic therapy usinga cheap, readily available drug called tetracycline, bubonic plague is 100% curable(Garret, 1994). They did this as a form of penance and believed that God would forgive themand keep the plague from them as long as they showed their remorse. (Biel, 1989) The situations that Boccaccia spoke of were not uncommon. As a result of this, many people refused to bathduring the time of the plague, as they felt that washing their bodies would open the pores further,giving the plague even more opportunity to infect them. In 1347, in the southern Ukraine near the Black Sea, the native people began dying of amysterious disease.
Common topics in this essay:
Europe Strayer,
Sacrament Penance,
Bubonic Plague,
Black Sea,
World Bank,
Francisco Patriarch,
Sicily October,
Constantinople Hecker,
Black Death,
Plague India,
bubonic plague,
biel 1989,
strayer 1972,
armstrong 1981,
deaux 1969,
black death,
plague spread,
garret 1994,
14th century,
carried plague,
strayer 1972 plague,
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Acceptance Essays
