Question
Choose at least two sources on the Black Death from the databases in the CSU Online Library. These sources may be e-books or articles. Then, write an essay of at least one page on the following topic:
Characterize the significance of the Black Death’s impacts on the economic and cultural life of medieval Europe. Then, illustrate your point with specific examples. How does your knowledge of other epidemics in history provide additional insight into the impact of the Black Death?
Be sure to consider the following points in your essay:
? The introduction should engage the reader and clearly present the essay’s thesis and a summary of the main points that clarify the writer’s point of view.
? Organization should clearly present points arranged logically to support the thesis.
? Writing should be clear and concise with no spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors.
? The number of sources should meet or exceed any expressed assignment requirements and should be peer-reviewed or academic in nature.
Sample paper
Black Death
Black Death is one of the most devastating plagues that engulfed medieval Europe, resulting to millions of deaths across Europe and other parts of the world such as North Africa. The plague had perverse and profound impacts on the economic prosperity and the cultural life of medieval Europe. The plague greatly contributed to economic meltdown and disintegration of the cultural life of medieval Europe. Trauma from death of friends and loved ones greatly contributed to a fragmentation of the moral fabric that binds the society. This paper examines the economic and cultural impacts of Black Death in medieval Europe.
In the 14th century, Europe’s population experienced decimation by disease. The multiple deaths resulted into fragmentation of the cultural life and a breakdown of the moral values (Atlas, 2009). With fear of death from the plague overwhelming people, lawlessness became the order of the day. Those who died from the plague had their homes ransacked by the living, an act contrary to medieval Europe’s culture. Other people turned to drinking as a way of coping with the traumatizing turn of events. Cases of theft, murder, and other immoralities were also high. Cultural values that were deeply revered in the past were thus disregarded as the plague traumatized the people. The church also lost important people who previously used to serve in various rankings (Atlas, 2009). Although the higher rankings tried to train new people to fill the gaps of those who died, the church still experienced gaps in the transfer of knowledge and traditions.
High deaths of leaders in various ranks greatly affected leadership. In medieval Europe, leadership directly influenced economic prosperity. When leadership was poor, the economic prosperity of the nation was also poor. The high number of deaths resulting from Black Death resulted to a decline in trade. This was the result of demographic changes in the population. According to Carenza (2016), pottery data reflecting the 1300s indicates a decline in pottery use. The decline in pottery use is due to a declining population, rather than changes in culture of the people.
References
Atlas, J. (2009). The Black Death: an essay on traumatic change. Journal of Psychohistory, 36(3): 249-259.
Carenza, L. (2016). Disaster recovery: new archaeological evidence for the long-term impact of the ‘calamitous’ fourteenth century. Antiquity, 90(351): 777-797.
