Nate Watkins

10th Grade
Mr. Wesley Cooper
AP European History
The Cause and Effect of the Black Death in The Middle Ages
The Black Death is arguably the biggest public health disaster in recording history and
definitely the most recognizable. While many know of this plague that engulfed most of the
known world at the time, few actually recognize the significance, causes, or details around this
event. While frequently referred to as the Bubonic Plague, the Black Death is actually
comprised of multiple different diseases, with Yersinia pestis, the scientific notation for the
plague, being the most common strand of disease. The plague swept through Europe, North
Africa, and the Middle East like an angel of darkness causing mass death. In Europe, where the
disease was at its worst, the plague killed at least a third of the population, with some areas
becoming more severely affected than others. To really understand this disease, you must
understand both the cause of the wide spread disease and its effects. To do this, you must turn to
the accounts of those who witnessed the disease.
The first primary document we will investigate is Gabriele de Mussis account of the
siege of Caffa and Tana in Genoa. In this testimony, de Mussis explains about the spread of the
disease to those in Genoa. He starts the account in Gods voice, going on a monologue about
how the plague was a punishment sent from above. This same belief later makes mention in
Boccaccios Decameron, the next primary document to be addressed. In the account, he describes
the Mongols siege on the town of Tana that in turn affected Caffa. When the Mongols attacked

Tana, they were being struck by a deadly affliction. Thousands in their army seemed to be dying
by this infection and the author even states it was like arrows from heaven. When the Mongols
had no other option, in both the disposal of bodies and warfare against the Genoese, they began
flinging the bodies over the walls with a medieval form of catapult. When the bodies landed in
the town, they were described as mountains of the dead. At the same time, residents of the
town began showing symptoms of the disease that had killed there enemies. As this development
was discovered, some citizens fled to Caffa, unknowingly bringing the disease with them. When
they arrived, it was if they had evil spirits, as wherever they went, the disease went as well.
After many had died, in an unfortunate repeat of events, some citizens in Caffa fled to various
cities from their port. Therefore, they took the disease with them across various cities in the
Mediterranean Basin. This is one of the believed reasons the Black Death was able to be so
widespread.
The second primary document, as stated above, is Giovanni Boccaccios Decameron. In
this document, it describes the plague in Florence, Italy. One of the first things Boccaccio
mentions is the belief that the plague was a punishment. Boccaccio even briefly mentions the
acts certain groups would enact upon themselves and others to try to pay for their mistakes.
Boccaccio describes the segregation of the sick in the towns. The healthy would group together
in specified areas, as the sick were forced to stay in a different area. From this practice arose two
very contrasting ways of life. One group decided to stay inside isolated homes, living modest and
religious lives and refusing to hear about the terror outdoors. The other group did the opposite,
leading wild and carefree lives. This group partied and drank all day, going wherever and
whenever they wanted. The only thing the two groups had in common was their avoidance of any
news or carriers of the disease. Inside the segregated areas, physicians or servants could do

nothing to help and neither could be summoned easily due to fear of contracting the disease.
However, it was much worse for those in surrounding villages and small cities, who could not
afford physicians or to segregate themselves. It was not uncommon to walk down the road and
see diseased peasants on the side of the road or in the fields, their hands lying still against the
plow. Italy took a hard blow when the Black Death struck them.
The third primary documents are the artistic portrayals of the dark time. Each document
held a similar theme, while still carrying individual horrors. The first image depicted a plague
victim left behind to watch a village burning as citizens flee. The only ex-resident who seems to
notice him is a lady with whom he appears to be pleading. Many believe the man is pleading to
go with the survivors but is being denied the privilege. This depiction shows the fear of the
plague all people shared during that time. The second image shows a group of Flagellants doing
their namesake act, flogging themselves and their companions. This act of flogging exhibited
some of the peculiar things that people would do to try to atone for their actions. This leads to the
next painting which depicts an Anti-Semitic act of burning Jews. Persecution of the Jews was
very common in the Middle Ages, as some Christians believed that inflicting pain on the Jews
would appease God. This is another one of the cruel acts that became common place in the era.
The final artistic capture is a sculpture from a tomb. While tombs used to be made to look as the
deceased would look in their prime, in the Middle Ages, a new trend started wherein the tomb
would represent the deceased in a form of decomposition. This was brought on by Europes
morbid obsession with death, the most prominent thing in society. This trend left a heavy mark
on the culture of European history.
The fourth primary document is an account by Ahmad Al-Maqrazi in Cairo, Egypt. The
account from Egypt is very interesting due to the contrasts between Egypt and Europe. One big

difference was the development of a new symptom. In Egypt, in the year 1349, victims of the
plague began spitting up blood. This development led to a more prominent knowledge of the
disease and more startling reactions. Almost all of Cairo became a deserted wasteland. The only
real noise you heard was the howling of grieving families as you passed by a house. Funeral
processions filled the streets that were lined with bodies of the deceased. Groups of people quit
their regular jobs for funeral related jobs, like gravediggers or people who could execute Muslim
funerals. Almost all celebrations became nonexistent until the end of the plague. Where the
streets were once filled with music, now an unnatural silence had settled. Many Muslim prayer
leaders stopped calling for prayer, due either to their untimely death or preoccupation with the
plague. Crop workers became so sparse, most harvests were unable to be sown. Those that did
harvest, however, were having trouble selling as few people needed sustenance anymore. Most
trade failed as all artisans gained other duties and the goods needing to be purchased were hardly
purchased.
Now that we have a general knowledge of the plague, and some of the more famous
accounts, we can start to perform our task. Our task is to explain how the following thesis
statement; Still, the most hopeful medical researcher or historian would agree that the process
of relating cause and effect, of finding cause and effect, of finding causes and explaining effects
is fraught with difficulties, is proven through the documents. To do this, we must figure out
both variables: the causes and the effects. By determining these two factors, we can determine
their relation and how it is hard to determine the relations of the causes and the effects.
We will first look at the causes. In the loosest sense, the Black Death is the cause.
However, there are sub causes for each effect. These sub causes are what we must look into and
describe. For example, the Black Death is a main cause. The lack of people to work in the fields

is a perfect example of a sub cause. When we notice relations, we will use these sub causes.
Other examples are depopulation, the emergence of flagellants, and the crumbling economic
system. This development leads to the determination of more effects from the Black Death.
Therefore, we can determine the effects. The effects are anything the Black Death caused
in the Dark Ages world. The Black Death has many effects, which could be written in a separate
paper. Some good examples are wasted harvests, the lack of trade, and depopulation which leads
us to find the relation of the causes and effects.
You may have noticed that depopulation was both a cause and effect. That is the difficulty
with finding cause and effect. Most people think of cause and effect as a two part solution. There
is an event and this event has a direct event that happens because of the original event. However,
cause and effect needs to be thought of more as a tree. Especially in this cause, you cannot just
relate two things abstractly. You have to think of everything as connected. For example, the
Black Death caused depopulation. Depopulation, however, caused less workers, which in turn
caused there to be less crops harvested. When thinking of history, you have to see the
connections between various things. For a visual image, create a flow chart in your mind. Place
The Black Death at the top of your chart, and the Near Collapse of Europe at the bottom.
You can then put anything that the Black Death inadvertently caused in the middle. From there
on, you can fill it in like a food web. The connections would be everywhere, making no
individual cause and effect, but rather, multiple causes and effects. However, all links would
be able to find their way to both the top and bottom of the chart. Their relation creates the
difficulty of forming causes and effects. Therefore, the problem we faced in this assignment
while trying to determine the causes and effects, is the task historians face daily. Finding these
relations is a historians duty. Because of their work, we are able to learn from the past.