The Black Death

Gratuitous Sean Bean image... Ed.

The contrasting and varied behavior of the survivors of the plague is fascinating.  Some elected to flee from the sick, others opted to live in communal houses of healthy people consuming the most expensive produce in moderation, others elected to drink in excess and enjoy life through singing and solace, mocking the seriousness of the plague.  These numerous and varied philosophies illustrate the lack of conclusive knowledge in relation to the nature of the plague and how life should be undertaken in its midst.

--Dinesh

My intention is to give a brief overview of the readings that focused on the thriving economies of Italy and how the Black Death disrupted this social and economic growth. I also want to explain how the Black Death effected the emergence of the Renaissance.

The relentlessness of the Black Death and its spread across helpless Europe is evident in the loss of between 100-200 million people in the 14^thcentury wave of the plague. The population of cities during the time of the bubonic plague was often decimated by more than fifty percent, for example Florence had an initial population of 90,000-100,000 that became a mere 30,000. The devastating effects of the plague and the re-emergence of despotism throughout Italy meant that the prosperity that had been experienced in city-states such as Florence and Venice ceased.

The flourishing republics of Venice and Florence were experiencing great wealth before the arrival of the plague in 1348, and I think that it is important to note the sources of wealth and how they differed from one another.

Florence enjoyed the profits of two main enterprises, wool-making and banking. Wool was one of the two most profitable manufactured products that Europe could sell on the international markets and almost half of the population of Florence was involved in this production. Banking was the other main income source for the affluent Florence. The merchants who collected the church taxes were driven into the banking industry. Merchants had become the main political force of Florence, which had transformed into a ‘city of refinement’, a city of great beauty.

Venice experienced great successes through the trade industry and the manufacturing of ships. Described as a ‘maritime republic’, Venice placed great importance on shipbuilding as its commercial empire was enlarging. I found it interesting that the merchants aboard these ships often doubled as soldiers when the ships were used to accompany war ships in time of battle. This meant that the security of the ships was increased and trade flourished.

The prosperous environment of these cities paved the way for the emergence of minds such as Dante, Giotto di Bondone, Boccaccio and Petarch. These minds were the early voices of the renaissance through their examination of the human condition and their exploration of literature and ideas. However these voices and their humanist ideals were cut short by the arrival of the Black Death.  

However it is interesting to look at the opinions of some who believe that the Black Death itself paved the way of the renaissance. It is said that after the first wave of the plague, the people of Italy were so familiarized with death that they came to appreciate every day life more; they began to perhaps ‘live in the moment’. This change brought about new minds, similar to the likes of Dante, who’s thoughts and works paved the pathway to the renaissance.

--Kate

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THE BLACK DEATH AND SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC UPHEAVAL?

In order to determine the social and economic upheavals engendered by the Black Death, it is crucial to examine the state of Europe both prior and subsequent to the outbreak of the epidemic. Margaret L King’s reading this week focused primarily on Italy in the century preceding the event, providing an overview of the state of the country and, among other things, its social and economic affairs.

King notes that the years after 1250 were particularly prosperous for Northern Italy, with the enterprises of banking and wool lending Florence, and ship building lending Venice, great economic success. The two guilds established for the wool industry encompassed many people and enabled luxury textile items to be sold to the East. Similarly, the ability of the Florentine popolo to act as the Pop’s tax agent led to banking companies that profited off the exchange of money and become the most important throughout Europe. Venice also gained immense prosperity through their industry of ship building, sending out fleets to carry merchandise and to connect with the important Medieval trade network known as the Hanseatic League.

The prosperity of northern Italy is reflected in its vast growth of population, indicated by Florence’s ‘wall project’, a continual expansion of the outer walls in order to accommodate everyone. Furthermore, the construction of buildings such as the Palazzo Vecchio (1298) and the Church of Santa Croce (1295) transformed Florence into a city that prompted the question, ‘What in the world is so splendid and magnificent as the architecture of Florence?’ from the humanist Leonard Bruni (1370-1444).

In addition to this economic wealth and social growth, King dwells on the cultural and social changes that occurred during this time. The focus on law within developing Italian universities led to jurists who were, among other things, crucial for the negotiation of alliances and correct exchange of property within the city. Writers such as Dante Alighieri and painters such as Giotto di Bondone revitalised their trade, with Dante experimenting with poetry and Giotto adding bulk and expression to his figures in a manner that entirely rejuvenated literature and art.

Whilst the 1348 epidemic did lead to a more conservative lull in these arts until around 1400, however, King argues that despotism also played a major role. The revolt of the Ciompi in Florence in 1378 and temporary seizing of the government, the failure of the large Bardi and Peruzzi banks after 1342 due to Edward III’s refusal to repay his debt, and the loss of many urban republics by about 1300 to tyranny, all contributed to social and economic upheaval. Many important cities became subject to noblemen and therefore lost significant republican liberties.

King discusses how the Black Death, through its depletion of the population, spread of fear and changes to art form, did generate social changes, but suggests that despotism in cities outside of Florence and Venice also drastically changed economic and social states, and that the Black Death can therefore not be the only event considered in this question. Furthermore, I view the continuation of the Hanseatic League, for example, as evidence that these states, whilst diminished, were still existent following 1348. In fact, it seems to be the fragments left over from the prosperous period before the plague that culminated in the later Renaissance.     

 --Sam

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From around 1250, the life of the average person in northern Italy was improving, particularly for artisans and merchants. This era is known as the republican era and spans until 1350 (which marked the early stages of the Black Death).

Florence flourished due to its specialisation in wool and banking which transformed it from a minor centre to a leading city in Italy and, on a larger scale, Europe. Venice’s wealth, on the other hand, was derived from trade, which required  commitment to the building and management of ships. The ships allowed the Venetians to trade fish and salt for commodities such as timber or metal. During this time and up until the 13^th century, Venice built up its commercial empire that spread as far as the Near East and north Africa.

I was fascinated by the jurists, who played a significant role in Italian cities in this period. The jurists (who were men) were trained in Roman law and were prominent among the leaders who formed communes and held high status. I was interested to read that they were not always ‘churchmen’ which surprised me as this was during a time where the majority of power came from the Church. Some jurists explored political theory – questioning governance, such as Marsilius of Padua who was declared a heretic due to his theories.

The Black Death began to spread in the summer of 1348 and it was rare that one would survive following contraction. The Plague was carried by a particular flea, which was carried by a species of rat which in turn infected man humans. It was characterized by swellings or buboes (a swollen or inflamed lymph node in the groin or armpit).  The Plague caused population to decline significantly – approximately by one or two thirds, Florence and Venice, for instance, shrank from 90,000-100,000 to 30,000 and 120,000 to 84,000 respectively. Reoccurrences were frequent up until 1400. Physicians were helpless to resist and cure the Black Death as they knew nothing of infection, contagion or quarantine. However, it can be assumed that citizens caught on as they began avoiding each other, even to such extremes as parents neglecting their own ill children.

A description from poet Jeuan Gethin likens to the plague to a ‘rootless phantom’, which has ‘no mercy’ for whoever fell into its grasp. I found it interesting that Gethin alluded to fruit when commenting on the appearance of the lumps (‘it is of the form of an apple’) as fruit is something that is not usually synonymous with death.

--Leah

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The Black Death, a plague that ravaged Europe from the summer of 1348 until as late as 1400 was an epidemic with devastating consequences. For some European cities the population was almost halved, physicians were at a loss as to how to treat the disease and medicines failed to ease symptoms. The Black Death had no cure; citizens who were not already afflicted, could do nothing but wait in fear for what would almost certainly befall them also. People were dying so rapidly that mass graves were dug and families buried there kin with little emotion, as one citizen of Sienna reported “And there were none who wept for any death, for everyone expected to die.” Townspeople became more insular as a result of the rapid spread of disease and cared little for the hardships of their neighbor; monasteries were often the hardest hit due to the fact that monks took it upon themselves to care for victims of the plague. Desperation and fear were common place and it was not unheard of for family members to abandon each other during the height of the epidemic. In the beginning the cause of the Black Death was unknown resulting in certain religious denominations being targeted as the perpetrators, such as the Jews who were burnt alive in some cities. However, social upheaval was not the only consequence of the Plague, governments restricted the import and export of foodstuffs from harbor towns in an attempt to contain the outbreak; this left some merchants poverty stricken and the townspeople not only sick but starving. With the huge decline in population their were limited people left to work the land, impacting agricultural production effecting further still the economic climate of Europe during the 14^th Century. 

Some historians believe that the Black Plague only exacerbated social and economic issues that were already emerging during this time period, that it only aided what was already in decline. Historian Dr. Mike Ibeji makes the statement, “The Black Death was never a cause it was always a catalyst.” Do you agree?

--Victoria