Result of the Black Plague on the West seen through Malthus
Though the result of the Black Plague is initially deterioration, seen in Boccaccio's Decameron, the decline stimulates efforts at reform and renewal. In 1798 the English clergyman Thomas Malthus published the first edition of his influential Essay on the Principle of Population. In it, Malthus concludes that the plague does not end western culture. On the contrary, the plague allows it to flourish and ensures its survival. Boccaccio provides a wealth of information about the plague in his Decameron. The book is set in 1338, the year the plague struck Florence. Seven women and three men flee the plague in the city for the safety of a country villa. On their ten-day journey to the villa, each of the travelers entertains the others with a story. The result is a set of one hundred tales framed within the larger story of the travelers' journey. Boccaccio writes realistically and lyrically of the horror of the plague. He allows each of his characters a distinct voice to tell stories of charm, sadness, bawdiness, mystery, and drama. The plague and the death resulting from it are two major motifs in the Decameron.It can be argued that the Black Plague of 1338 and 1339 was the most devastating natural disaster to ever strike the
Over the long run, the breaking of the Malthusian deadlock has its advantages. These people become acquainted with a style of life that they or their children do not want to easily abandon. " (Branca 291) The poorly nourished peasants fall victim to the plague first, yet they welcomed death, since for them life was death. Specific changes in technology are of course primarily attributed to the inventive genius of individuals. It gives the Europeans a chance to rebuild their society along much different lines, and guarantees that in the generations proceeding 1348, Europe will not simply continue the pattern of society and culture of the thirteenth century. " (Boccaccio 11) His allusion to women physicians is especially noteworthy. In the poem, it is suggested that some lords offered triple salary to laborers. To cite only one out of the many possible examples, "the Italian region of Tuscany at its medieval height was inhabited by two million people. Morelli attributes the high mortality of the plague to the famines before the plague struck. The collapse of population liberates land for uses other than the cultivation of grains. Lords are drawing a blank on the labor issue, which gives the laborers themselves an increased negotiating position when dealing with lords and other entrepreneurs. Records throughout Europe consistently mention the need for gravediggers, doctors, and priests. Because of a labor shortage, women during the plague can now serve in a variety of professions before unknown to them, such as witnesses and scribes.
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Acceptance Essays
