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The Black Plague, also known as the Bubonic Plague, ravaged Europe during the middle ages. Originally called the Pestulance or the Great Mortality, it killed approximately 25 million people. The plague originated in Asia in the early 1340s, and reached Europe by 1347.
Bubonic plague is caused by a bacterium named yersenia pestis. It is transmitted by fleas that infest rodents, such as mice, rats, bats, prairie dogs and squirrels. As a person comes down with the plague, they will first have a strong headache followed by fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, back pain, sore arms and legs, sensitivity to light and a white coating on their tongue.
Within a day or two, hard, painful lumps
would appear on their neck, armpits and inner thighs. These
lumps, called buboes, would fill with pus and blood, and
eventually rupture. Sometimes, these lumps could be as big as a
baseball. After the lumps appeared, the victim would begin to
bleed internally. They would have blood in their urine, stools
and under the skin. (hence the name "Black Plague")
Most victims would die within a week
Doctors were not aware of
bacteria in the Middle Age
s.
They believed the plague was caused by astronomical forces and
earthquakes.
It was believed to be spread by strong odors.
As doctors would try to help the victims, they would put on a
suit with a beaked helmet.
Inside the beak, they would put vinegar, sweet smelling oils and
other odiferous items to
avoid the stench of the disease.
Since they didn't know what caused the
disease, they had no way of knowing how to
treat it. They tried to cure the victims by bathing them in urine
and wiping fecal material
on their bodies. They would give them molten gold to drink and
powdered emeralds to eat.
Today, plague is easily treated with antibiotics, and is rarely fatal if caught early.
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