The Black Death: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments in Medieval England
The Black Death was a catastrophic plague that ravaged England in 1348-1349, decimating about one-third of the population. This pandemic provides valuable insights into medieval understanding of disease and medical practices.
Causes and Origins
Medieval people attributed the causes of the Black Death to various factors:
- Religious punishment from God for sins
- Unusual alignment of planets Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn
- Miasma theory: bad air or smells from decaying matter
- Poisonous gases from European volcanoes and earthquakes
- Imbalance in the Four Humours, a prevalent medical theory
- Malevolent actions of outsiders or witches
Highlight: Modern historians believe the Black Death was likely bubonic plague, transmitted by fleas living on black rats that traveled on trading ships.
Symptoms and Progression
The symptoms of the Black Death were severe and often fatal:
- Swelling of lymph glands into large, pus-filled lumps called buboes
- Fever and chills
- Intense headaches
- Vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain
Vocabulary: Buboes - swollen, pus-filled lymph glands characteristic of bubonic plague.
Prevention Methods
People in medieval England attempted to avoid catching the plague through various means:
- Religious practices like praying and fasting to show repentance
- Environmental measures such as clearing street rubbish and keeping air moving
- Carrying herbs and spices to ward off 'bad air'
- Restricting entry of strangers into towns and villages
Example: Some people believed that smelling strong odors, even from toilets, could overcome the plague-causing miasma.
Treatments and Remedies
How was the Black Death treated in 1348? Medieval treatments were largely ineffective and based on superstition or misguided medical theories:
- Prayer and use of lucky charms
- Draining pus from buboes by cutting them open
- Applying bread to buboes and then burying it
- Consuming cool foods and taking cold baths
Definition: Miasma theory - the belief that diseases were caused by bad air or noxious vapors.
The variety of prevention methods and treatments reflects the medieval understanding of disease causation, blending religious, astrological, and primitive medical concepts. This highlights the limited scientific knowledge of the time and the desperate attempts to combat a devastating pandemic.
