..To speak to or go near the sick brought infection and a common death... To touch the clothes (which) the sick had touched or worn gave the disease to the person touching" (Williams, 167). This description is quite accurate, yet even well-educated and enlightened Boccaccio himself did not know how the plague was spread from one person to another. It is also true that the plague bacillus could be spread simply by touching a piece of clothing worn by a dying person, due to rat fleas which would jump from the clothing to the person holding it without ever being aware of it.
Thus, under these extraordinary circumstances, the Black Death, so named because of the black buboes which appear on the body, completely mystified the medical community and its doctors whom at the time had been trained on pseudo-science, ignorance and superstition. As a result, all those who managed to remain healthy came up with various ways to make sure they remained so. For instance, Boccaccio relates that some people completely separated themselves from society by isolating their families in small communities or houses far away from those dying or already dead.
But as the bodies piled up, it soon became impossible to steer clear of death, for it was everywhere and had infiltrated virtually every level of society, from peasants on up to the most wealthy and politically powerful citizens. On the other hand, as Boccaccio describes it, many thought "the sure cure for the plague was to drink and be merry, (to) satisfy every appetite they could. Many spent day and night going from tavern to tavern, drinking immoderately... because everyone felt doomed and had abandoned his property" ("The Black Death, 1348," Internet).
Obviously, the destruction and chaos created by the Black Death in Europe in the 14th century greatly impacted society to the extend that many social and political leaders, such as the nobles, church officials, princes, kings and...
This of course opened the door for new leadership and allowed many of those in the lower classes to achieve new ranks and positions in various national governments, particularly in Italy, France and Germany.
As Kastenbaum puts it, the feudal system which at the time served as the major force in shaping the political and social structure within Europe, collapsed in many areas and since "the large underclass of mostly illiterate people" that remained did not possess the necessary skills to run government systems, "technological and cultural progress" was virtually halted, a situation which only helped to perpetuate the so-called Dark Ages well into the 16th century ("Black Death," Internet). Boccaccio provides a rather vivid picture on how the Black Death affected the masses, for he states that "brother abandoned brother... fathers and mothers refused to... tend their children (and) a multitude of sick men and women were left without any care" (Williams, 213).
In conclusion, the Black Death "became an almost palpable presence" in the form of personified Death, being the now-familiar "Danse Macabre" and the animated skeleton wrapped in black with Death as its horrible face (Kastenbaum, Internet). Yet somehow Medieval Europe did manage to survive and by the end of the 15th century, Europe and its people returned to order which brought about the beginnings of the Renaissance Period.
Bibliography
Kastenbaum, Robert. "Black Death." Encyclopedia of Death & Dying. Internet. 2007. Retrieved at http://www.deathreference.com/Bl-Ce/Black-Death.html.
The Black Death, 1348." EyeWitness to History. Internet. 2007. Retrieved at http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/plague.htm.
Williams, Thomas. The Black Death and Its Impact on European Systems. New York: Random House, 2003.
