Plague Symptoms, Causes and Cures

The term ‘Black Death’ is a more modern term for the ‘Plague Pandemic’ that swept through Europe.

The Black Death is also commonly known as the ‘The Great Plague’, ‘Black Plague’ or ‘Plague’.

Some historians estimate that the pandemic killed up to 60% of the population.

It is hard to give a very accurate number for the amount of people in Europe that were killed by the Black death, I suppose all we really need to know is that the numbers were huge and too great!

The Black Death pandemic took a huge toll of the populations of Europe with most major countries like England, France, Spain and Italy being badly effected – however some countries like Poland for instance did fairly well and were hardly effected.

Black Death Herb Mask worn by medieval doctor

During the black death or bubonic plague medieval doctors wore bizarre herb masks as shown

From the date the pandemic was first recorded in 1346 the diseases swept through all the major cities in Europe, causing devastation, so much so that it had a lasting impact and changed society in these countries in many different ways.

The Black Death was a widespread pandemic that hit nearly all of Europe in the 14th century, taking a huge toll on the populations of each major country

A major portion of the populations of all affected countries was devastated, many cities became depopulated and the pandemic cast a lasting impact on the overall outlook of the society in different countries.

The pandemic was first reported in Europe in 1346 and it continued to ravage until 1353.

Types of Plague

Three major types of plague were identified during the period of Black Death: these included the

  • The bubonic plague.
  • The pneumonic plague.
  • The septicemic plague.

Symptoms

The symptoms of Black Death included the growth of a tumor in groin or armpits which grew as large as an egg. Similar tumors then formed all over the body.

Attempted treatments of Black Death included lancing the bubonic growths on the body and applying herbal mixture to the wounds.

Cures

Medieval Doctors wore Bizarre clothing and ‘Beaked Masks’ that contained a cocktail of herbs! as they walked around Medieval Towns and Cities. They believed that this offered
them protection from the diseases of the pandemic.

Although Medieval Doctors were a presence in medieval towns, there really was no known cure for the ‘Black Death’ and Doctors had no solution to the problem!

The Black Plague would devastate Europe until around 1353.