The Black Death, 1348 The Black Death, 1348 Coming out of the East, the Black Death reached the shores of Italy in the spring of 1348 unleashing a rampage of death across Europe unprecedented in recorded history. By the time the epidemic played itself out three years later, anywhere between 25% and 50% of Europe's population had fallen victim to the pestilence. The plague presented itself in three interrelated forms. Having no defense and no understanding of the cause of the pestilence, the men, women and children caught in its onslaught were bewildered, panicked, and finally devastated. The Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio lived through the plague as it ravaged the city of Florence in 1348. "The symptoms were not the same as in the East, where a gush of blood from the nose was the plain sign of inevitable death; but it began both in men and women with certain swellings in the groin or under the armpit. Many others adopted a course of life midway between the two just described.
Ebola: Mapping the outbreak The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was first reported in March 2014, and rapidly became the deadliest occurrence of the disease since its discovery in 1976. In fact, the epidemic killed five times more than all other known Ebola outbreaks combined. More than 21 months on from the first confirmed case recorded on 23 March 2014, 11,315 people have been reported as having died from the disease in six countries; Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, the US and Mali. The total number of reported cases is about 28,637. But on 13 January, 2016, the World Health Organisation declared the last of the countries affected, Liberia, to be Ebola-free. 4,809 Liberia 3,955 Sierra Leone 2,536 Guinea 8 Nigeria Getty The World Health Organization (WHO) admits the figures are underestimates, given the difficulty collecting the data. There needs to be 42 days without any new cases for a country to be declared Ebola-free. Liberia has been the worst-hit, with more than 4,800 dead and 10,672 becoming infected.
Was Ebola Behind the Black Death? Controversial new research suggests that contrary to the history books, the "Black Death" that devastated medieval Europe was not the bubonic plague, but rather an Ebola-like virus. History books have long taught the Black Death, which wiped out a quarter of Europe's population in the Middle Ages, was caused by bubonic plague, spread by infected fleas that lived on black rats. But new research in England suggests the killer was actually an Ebola-like virus transmitted directly from person to person. The Black Death killed some 25 million Europeans in a devastating outbreak between 1347 and 1352, and then reappeared periodically for more than 300 years. But researchers Christopher Duncan and Susan Scott of the University of Liverpool say that the flea-borne bubonic plague could not have torn across Europe the way the Black Death did. "If you look at the way it spreads, it was spreading at a rate of around 30 miles in two to three days," says Duncan. Ebola-Like Symptoms Cited
The Black Death: Bubonic Plague In the early 1330s an outbreak of deadly bubonic plague occurred in China. The bubonic plague mainly affects rodents, but fleas can transmit the disease to people. Once people are infected, they infect others very rapidly. Plague causes fever and a painful swelling of the lymph glands called buboes, which is how it gets its name. Since China was one of the busiest of the world's trading nations, it was only a matter of time before the outbreak of plague in China spread to western Asia and Europe. "Realizing what a deadly disaster had come to them, the people quickly drove the Italians from their city. The disease struck and killed people with terrible speed. "ate lunch with their friends and dinner with their ancestors in paradise." By the following August, the plague had spread as far north as England, where people called it "The Black Death" because of the black spots it produced on the skin. Medieval society never recovered from the results of the plague.
Black Death - Facts & Summary Today, scientists understand that the Black Death, now known as the plague, is spread by a bacillus called Yersina pestis. (The French biologist Alexandre Yersin discovered this germ at the end of the 19th century.) They know that the bacillus travels from person to person pneumonically, or through the air, as well as through the bite of infected fleas and rats. Both of these pests could be found almost everywhere in medieval Europe, but they were particularly at home aboard ships of all kinds–which is how the deadly plague made its way through one European port city after another. Not long after it struck Messina, the Black Death spread to the port of Marseilles in France and the port of Tunis in North Africa. Today, this grim sequence of events is terrifying but comprehensible. Meanwhile, in a panic, healthy people did all they could to avoid the sick.
Medieval History, Castles MedievalPlus.com The Middle Ages is a period in European history which, along with its adjective ‘Medieval’, was first referred to by italian scholars and academics of the late fifteenth century. They were basically stating that the society in which they now lived was significantly more civilized and advanced in many ways, than that which had existed during the previous thousand years. Historians since that time have, however, used the terms 'middle ages' and medieval as a convenient way to refer to that general period in European history. It has been regarded as extending approximately from the end of the fifth century AD, when the control of the Roman Empire had ended, until the end of the fifteenth century AD, when the modern world was considered to have begun. The concept that a new age had commenced across Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire, along with its laws and control of society, may be quite a valid one. The Beginning of the Middle Ages The End of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages, Dynamic Culture of the Middle Ages The European High Middle Ages, which lasted from about 1050 to 1300, evoke for many people romantic images of knights in shining armor, magnificent castles, and glorious cathedrals. And to many people, the word medieval (Latin medium aevum; "middle age") wrongly suggests a cultural intermission between the classical period of the Greek and Roman civilizations and the Renaissance. On the contrary, the High Middle Ages was a dynamic period that shaped European identity and development, stimulated in part by Europe’s interactions with other cultures in Eurasia and the Mediterranean. Many of the basic social and political patterns and institutions later associated with European history were formed during this era. Economic Expansion and the Emergence of Towns Territorial expansion, innovations in agriculture, and the development of cities and trade brought rapid economic change to medieval Europe. Social Diversity Political Centralization and the Development of Government by Consent
Famous Medieval People Famous People - Medieval Biographies, Timelines and History of the Famous People Famous people of the Medieval period and details of the key dates and events in their lives. Famous people include Medieval lords, nobles, warriors, religious leaders, inventors of both Europe and England during the Medieval times. For facts and interesting information, timelines and biographies of famous people click the links to the following: Medieval Women Medieval Kings The other famous people of the era were the heroes and villains of the era who included Artists, Clerics, Crusaders, Diplomats, Religious Leaders, Military Leaders, Philosophers & Theologians, Physicians, Mathematicians, Writers & Poets and Reformers who featured in the turbulent times of the Middle Ages from 1066 - 1485. The following links provide access to short biographies, facts, dates, events and the history of all of these important and famous people of the Medieval times of the Middle Ages. Robin Hood
Medieval People It was the colourful and interesting Medieval People of the Middle Ages that made this period in history so fascinating, You had the Pope and King with all the land and power, the Medieval Nobility and Military who protected the King from outside dangers in return for money and land, the medieval Castle staff who kept the castle operational whilst the Entertainers and Peasants entertained the Royals and kept the Kingdom running. Important medieval people that kept the society running were Craftsmen such as carpenters and Merchants who sold the goods and merchandise. At the bottom of society were the serfs and peasants who worked the fields and did manual jobs, but they were also important cogs in the wheels of a medieval Feudal system. The medieval military protected medieval castles from invaders and were usually controlled by the Nobility who built up their armies and trained Knights from an early age. Medieval Children Medieval Clergy The Pope was head of the Roman Catholic Church.
Medieval Literature Facts and interesting information about Medieval Life,specifically, Medieval Literature Medieval Literature - The Dark Ages and the BardsEnglish Medieval literature had, so far as we know, no existence until Christian times of the Dark Ages when Latin was the language of English literature. English Medieval literature was not written. Medieval Literature - The Romantic Arthurian LegendTales told by the Bards were transferred into book form and the romantic stories of the Arthurian legend and the ideals of courtly love became part of Medieval literature. Medieval Literature - The LanguageThe French language came over to England with William the Conqueror. English Medieval Literature - The Epic poems - Narrative LiteratureThe French epic poem came over to England at an early date. Medieval Literature - The Poets and AuthorsMedieval literature was written by a variety of authors and poets, many of which are included in the following list: