Sweating sickness kills tens of thousands of people on its first appearance in 1485 and periodically thereafter. Italian people often used to say that; people had lunch with their friends and had dinner with their ancestors in the paradise. Between 1558 and 1582 plaques arrived in London every four years on average. Some of these Orders are fairly obvious, if strict, steps for containing disease on a case by case basis. The Black Death occurred during the Hundred Years War. Sir William Davenant ( possible an illegitimate son of William Shakespeare ) his associates and his career and life in Elizabethan England. Because living conditions were often cramped and dirty, humans lived in close contact with rats. Plague disease struck and killed people in no time, leaving behind decaying bodies and terrible fear in the minds of the healthy ones. Only the friars and the nuns did their duty and cared for the sick. It's population was growing continuously with poor people moving from the country to London in search of work. The Black Death In Elizabethan England 688 Words | 3 Pages. Some of our most famous art and literature come from this era of history, and English explorers traveled the globe, spreading their . The disease killed people of all classes. The death cart labourers generally undertook their gruesome work at night and the bodies were hurried out of the house wrapped in any kind of improvised shroud. The Black Death was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s. Plague doctors started wearing special masks with a bird-shaped beak for protection, as they believed the disease was airborne. In this system, the lord owned the land in small communities, and the peasants living there farmed the land and gave him a portion of their crops as a form of payment. At this time of desesperation and agony in most homes religion such as Islam and Christianity became the most powerful force in the lives of people. Plague laid waste to England and especially to the capital repeatedly during Shakespeare's professional life in 1592, again in 1603, and in 1606 and 1609. I. These rodents spread the Bubonic plague from China to Europe and lastly, it hit Britain in 1348. It first showed up in Europe in October 1347. Shakespeare's London was home to a cross-section of early modern English culture. And there would have been the constant fear of contacting the Black Death (Bubonic Plague ) or seeing friends and family dying from the deadly disease. The Black Death had reached Paris, London, Lyon and Bordeaux by the middle of the year in 1348. A famine broke out, and it is now known as the famine before the plague. Many such thieves were thrown into the pits, dead or alive, with their victims. One of the most terrifying black plague facts is that it killed 30 to 50 percent of infected victims back in the Black Death outbreak. Since the disease was highly contagious, it is believed that the bubonic plague was controlled through the right implementation of isolation and quarantine. In the Elizabethan era the people didnt have the right medicines to be able to cure their illnesses. A famine broke out, and it is now known as the famine before the plague. The Black Death & Bubonic Plague in the Elizabethan Era, Symptoms, effects, consequences, cure and medical treatment. The Black Death (Plague of 1348) had a deep and lasting impact on Medieval Europe for a variety of reasons. However, Elizabeth had many favourites and close friends who were men, including Robert Dudley, Walter Raleigh, Francis Drake, and Robert Devereux, as well as many prominent suitors, including many . He also developed swollen limbs which became very painful. The rats then spread it to fleas that lived on their . The Pestilence. For one thing, ministers were told to keep their sick parishioners separated from the healthy members of the congregation during services. A perfect vehicle for ensuring the spread of the disease in Elizabethan London. The Black Death swept through the Middle East and Europe in the years 1346-1353 but it may have begun several decades earlier in the Qinghai Plateau of Central Asia. Elizabethan Physicians wore long dark robes with pointed hoods, leather gloves, boots, and the most bizarre masks featuring long beaks which were filled with bergamot oil. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. The victims were not allowed to leave and neither was anyone else allowed to enter. We often hear the plague spread due to unhygienic conditions and a surplus of rats in Europe. Victims also suffered a very high fever, delirium, the victim begins to vomit, muscular pains, bleeding in the lungs and mental disorientation. A really effective medical treatment and cure for the Bubonic plague (Black Death) was impossible during the Elizabethan and later periods of history. The red cross acted as a warning as there was a time when the victims of the illness were not carried away to be buried or burnt. The Plague came in three different ways: bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. Some elements of quarantine were introduced but usually by the time that this was instigated the deadly disease had already struck. When Henry VIII began dissolving these religious institutions in 1536, however, sickness and infirmity were not abolished with them, and so English authorities had to find new ways to address public health. The symptoms for this plague were extremely painful and death was the most likely outcome in most cases. The above picture is of an Elizabethan Physician. The dead were to be buried in a secluded part of the graveyard at twilight, to minimize the chances of passersby contracting plague from the bodies. There were high mortality rates amongst Elizabethan children and this was true of the brothers and sisters of Shakespeare some of whom were struck down by the Bubonic plague (Black Death). Realizing that the Italian merchants had brought the disastrous plague to them, the people of Sicily threw them out of the city. However, the air was not the problem. They had victims drink vinegar and crushed minerals, or even arsenic. Contactus!advertise@facty.com. Vinegar was widely used as a cleansing agent as it was believed that it would kill disease. The people who were uninfected would rarely leave their homes isolating the sick ones in separated places. Any pictures of Physicians of the Elizabethan era look very strange and quite frightening. The country area and villages were not exempt from the disease either - there was no hiding place. For nearly the first two hundred years of the plagues endemic stay in England, the response was handled by monasteries and religious hospitals. It was a terrible spectacle and death followed suit. Although this first outbreak was certainly the most dramatic, the "plague" did not simply disappear after 1349. This kind of bacteria is typically found in rodents such as rats and also in the fleas that feed on the rodents. Fleas living on rats that came from Asia on a trade ship spread the bubonic plague, the septicaemic plague is created by the entrance of bacteria from their multiplying place into the blood vessels. In the same year, in the month of August, the plague had entered England and the English named it as The Black Death. It was no wonder that the Black Death or Bubonic Plague was so feared by the people of the Elizabethan era. 3,000 people died in Danzig and many again in Lbeck and other cities as the Sweat spread along the Baltic coast into Denmark, Scandinavia, and Russia. We love featuring the craft that those with a camera are able to produce and if we use one of your photographs please let us know so we can give credit where credit is due. Elizabethan medical treatment for head pains was with sweet-smelling herbs such as rose, lavender, sage, and bay. In fact, it was not even the first. But the spread of the disease still continued Information about the Medical Profession during the Elizabethan eraThe Elizabethan churches administered to the Black Death (Bubonic Plague) victims but very little other help was given and food was rarely distributed. First arriving in Europe through sick merchants on Genoese trading ships that docked in Sicily, the plague caused boils, fever, diarrhea, horrible pain, and shortly, death. The Black Death was the second pandemic of bubonic plague and the most devastating pandemic in world history. Abandoning the affected ones was the real ecstasy them. Medieval towns had no system of drains, sewers or trash collections. The plague was similar to diseases today because it was not curable similar to Aids. Like every other aspect, the black death had a significant impact on the economy of Europe in medieval times. The spread was aided by the River Thames and its boats which were used as the major form of transport in Elizabethan London. How did the black death spread so quickly? Any victim of the Bubonic Plague or Black Death would have to obtain a ' Certificate of Health ' to resume normal life - if they recovered Information about the Role of the Watchmen and Death Cart LabourersWatchmen were allocated to watch the ' plague houses ' and the only means of sustenance was for the victims to lower baskets from an upper window for the watchman to put food into it. It only took about twenty-three days from the point of infection for the plague to be fatal (Benedictow). Just the sight of an Elizabethan Physician in his strange clothing, especially the weird mask, was enough to frighten anyone to death. This action was tantamount to signing a death warrant for the whole family and one of the terrible consequences of the disease. One thing is certain, however, as we examine the responses to disease of people living hundreds of years ago: Its not the end of the world. Serfs were no longer tied to their previous plot of land. In Europe there were many responses to the plague which included helping to stop and cure the plague, profiting off it, and trying to protect and care for their loved ones. Although this might sound pointless today, these precautions would have protected the Elizabethan Physician. Friar Laurence in "Romeo and Juliet" has asked a fellow friar to deliver a crucial message to the exiled. A ship had arrived in Europe with many people that had the Black Death. (Cultural) Medieval society did not know what caused the plague or how it spread. Plague is an extremely infectious and vile disease caused by a bacteria known as Yersinia Pestis. The River Thames is a tidal river and, as such, it would have acted like a natural sewer. In today people have way better medicines and doctors to be able to help cure illnesses. The plague/Black Death first popped up the the 13th century. There was no known cure at the time, and the bacteria spread very quickly and would kill an infected person within two days, which led to structural public policies, religious, and medical changes in Europe. If it was spread by bacteria in the air, the incubation period was a mere one to three days. The reign of Elizabeth I saw the . William Shakespeare. The name comes from the black buboes (infected lymph glands) which broke out over a plague victim's body. The Pope was not allowed to have power. When she was a kid, she spent a lot of time in France. Tasked with treating victims of the Black Death, plague doctors wore all-leather suits and beak-like masks to avoid catching the fatal disease. When the government passed the Statute, the poor felt that the law served to keep them from this equality. Stopping the spread of the infection through the body is the first and paramount goal. While it is true that the living conditions in Europe at this time were not ideal, this was not the real reason for the spread of the disease. The huge loss of people and the colossal rate of casualty did affect the social construct as well. The fear that people felt just to survive resulted in some of the darkest times in the history of . The plague was the most devastating disease in world history. The cover-all clothing would have protected the Elizabethan Physician from fleas and therefore the Black Death / Bubonic Plague. The Black Death was a plague that killed many people. The first Plague was documented from 541 to 544 CE. 2. Everyone used the river to move about and each London Elizabethan would have come into contact with the everyday presence of the dirt and the rats. A ship came from China that brought rats infested with fleas, carrying the plague to Sicily. Plague victims were locked in their houses for 40. Facts about Life in Elizabethan England 8: the diet of the poor people The poor people ate a small portion of meat for it was expensive. The plague actually began in the Himalayan Mountains of southern Asia in the 1200s. The Elizabethans had no idea that the plague was spread by fleas that had lived on rats; though there were many "cures" for the plague, the only real defense--for those who could afford it--was to leave the crowded, rat-infested cities for the country. 20 July 2012. So many times we are tagged in these photos, shared them with friends, or find them randomly online. The fleas could actually spread the bacteria on their own, without ever involving the poor rats. These symptoms could come on rapidly, making it very difficult to get treatment in time. You should not rely on any Unfortunately, the Revolt did not immediately result in the end of serfdom, but was seen by the Whig historians as the beginning of the end of the feudal system (BBC Staff). The bizarre and gruesome Physician masks would have acted as protection against contracting the disease through breathing the same air as the victim. No one was sure how the Death spread, and this combined with the fast course the disease took and the primitive medical practices of the time allowed for the disease to spread through the continent in devastating time. Dan talks to Helen Castor about her book on Elizabeth I and the way she governed. The Bubonic Plague: The Black Death People all over Europe believed that this black plague was airborne a disease and hence, were leaving their homes to take shelter in rural remote county sides. Contrary to popular belief it was not just the people who lived in the towns who were at risk of catching the Black Death or Bubonic Plague. During the Renaissance period a disease was brought to Europe that is known as the Black Plague. The Black Death is widely believed to have been the result of plague, caused by infection with the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Initially spreading through rats and subsequently fleas, it killed at least one-third of the population of Europe and continued intermittently until the 18th century. History of Britain from Roman times to Restoration era. If one contracted the infection from a flea bite, it took two to six days to incubate and for symptoms to begin. London's first cases of plague were noticed in August. It came to Europe on 12 ships from the Black Sea. Doctors and physicians tried to treat the other symptoms that included fever, chills, diarrhoea, vomiting, and aches, but to no avail. Innumerable cows, sheep, pigs, goats, and chickens perished along with people. A few ramifications were self-evident, such as trade, others were concealed within the fear that the population had lost so much already, they could no longer afford to lose anything else, whether that be dignity or pride. Over the next five years, more than 20 million people died from a disease that almost killed one . Black Death was a plague epidemic that swept across Europe between 1348 and 1353, killing nearly 25 to 60% of the entire population of Europe. Alas, the disease had gripped the city and a large number of people were already infected. The terrible outbreak of the Black Death made Medieval people look for a link between health and hygiene. Elizabethan Medicine was extremely basic in an era when terrible illnesses such as the Bubonic Plague (Black Death ) were killing nearly one third of the population. The cause of the Bubonic plague (Black Death) was unknown during the Elizabethan era so people were not in the position to take proper care or adequate precautions. Sometried rubbing chunks of dead snakes on the boils. The Bubonic Plague: The Black Death He is someone who writes essentially a morality tale at the end, tracing the beginnings of a citizen who decides he and his wife are going to flee from London to escape the plague. These reports were then sent directly to the Privy Council. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. 1562 Elizabethan Witchcraft Act was passed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The Great Mortality. Shakespeare's life also overlapped with the Jacobean Era . The medieval medicines, herbs, and potions were useless against the dark power of bubonic plague. The victim would also experience extremely high fever and bloody vomit. A time of persecution and suffering, many had to endure the effects that the Black Plague brought with it. It would not have been certain when it would be safe for Theaters to re-open. The plague caused many to question their religious outlook, the lack of knowledge caused false cures to develop and affected the interactions throughout Europe. This kind of bacteria is typically found in rodents such as rats and also in the fleas that feed on the rodents. Although monks and nuns were no longer features of the English social and medical landscape, religion remained a major component of the Elizabethan response to plague. However, this loathsome disease resurfaced many times throughout centuries killing almost 100 million people in the world by the end of the 18th century. It is sometimes presumed to be the disease behind several historic epidemics, such as the pestilence described as striking the Philistines in the biblical book of 1 Samuel. The plague then entered Europe via Italy, carried by rats on Genoese trading ships sailing from the Black Sea. It is widely believed that Bristol was the place where the Black Death first reached England. A time of persecution and suffering, many had to endure the effects that the Black Plague brought with it. William Shakespeare is recognised as one of the most talented writers in all of English History. Other wild theories included divine punishment of the Europeans for their sins, and that the Jewish population was poisoning the water. Within a few days, the deadly plague spread in Sicily and other parts of Europe. Elizabethan England: A huge part of any renaissance era is the arts. Animals and human beings contract dangerous disease from flea or rodent bites. Amidst the consequences suffered by those carrying the disease, came the ramifications that those who were not directly affected experienced. In response to this, the government passed the Statute of Labourers in 1351 that forced peasants to remain in their homelands and did not allow lords to change their wages from what they were in 1346. This black plague was spreading almost like a wild forest fire that is unstoppable in nature. The plague had an enormous social effect, killing much of the population and encouraging new health reforms, it also had religious effects by attracting the attention of the Catholic Church, and lastly, it affected the trade around Europe, limiting the transportation of goods. Three horrific plague pandemics swept across the globe before its cause was ultimately uncoveredthe Plague of Justinian, which killed up to 10,000 people a day circa A.D. 561; the Black Death . Queen Elizabeth I was such an influential person in the world during her lifetime that the period of her reign is called the Elizabethan Era. Only the very wealthy would receive the ministrations of an Elizabethan Physician who would have received an education at one of the Universities. The Black Death It was a terrible spectacle and death followed suit.the Black death. For most people, contact with someone who had the Plague could lead to their own infection and death within the week. A frightening and swift end to life. The entire social structure was deconstructed owing to this disease. The Elizabethan City of London was filthy. The Black Death killed most of the aforementioned peasants, so the fields they were expected to farm on were left unplowed. In the modern world, however, the barely changed virus only kills 2 to 3 percent of infected victims, even when modern medicine is not accessible. The 16th century wasnt one of the brightest for the people of the Elizabethan Era. During the mid-fourteenth century, a plague hit Europe. Theatre was extremely popular and only was stopped due to the Black Plague in the 1590s. Many serfs moved to cities and contributed to the rise in urbanization and industrialization. The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign (1558-1603). Rate this book. Medical treatment for stomach pains and sickness was with wormwood, mint, and balm. Once humans are infected with bubonic plague, it spreads very quickly infecting other people. Some dissenters viewed quarantine as antithetical to Christian charity, arguing that the solution to such a judgment from God was not to separate but rather to come together in fellowship, sick and healthy alike. The bubonic plague, known to most as the Black Death, had such a powerfully negative impact upon the witches and warlocks living during this time. He was known to have a terrible fear of the deadly disease and its consequences and this is hardly surprising as it touched so many areas of his life including his life as an actor at the Globe Theater. Information about the Elizabethan Cure for the Black Death or the Bubonic PlagueIn the Elizabethan era various concoctions of herbs were given and used for the medical treatment of different parts of the body and the varying symptoms of the disease. These "death ships" carried the plague that traveled across Europe, eventually reaching Great Britain. Britannica Students Encyclopedia states, Besides providing labor, serfs had to pay taxes to their lord in money or produce. Serfs were forced to do hard labor to earn money and pay the lords. As the name implies, the Black Death was more often than not a death sentence. When a person caught the plague, he/she had a sudden fever with chills and headache. The outbreak lasted until around 1352. History of Britain from Roman times to Restoration era. The plague attacked and kill around 25% and 45% of the societies it touch and/or encountered.The plague was made of three bacterial strains which created the three plagues called bubonic, pneumonic, and septimic. And that the italian merchants had brought the disastrous plague to them, the Death... Then spread it to fleas that feed on the rodents bacteria on their rats in.! 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