Black Death Eulogy

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1: a) The Black Death was an horrendous pandemic, approximately 2.9 million people perished because of it. Over 60% of the population of England died, a grossly stunning amount. Apart from mass hysteria and fright, people had no clue what caused it, many believed it to be the apocalypse, many believed pestilence of the four horsemen was responsible. But as time went on, more and more people died, people began to lose faith in the church, mainly because priests were dying. The feudal system drastically changed when peasants were in smaller numbers, their value had substantially increased, the demand for workers was growing. b) After it's initial appearance, the black death returned on several occasions, this is evident by the populations recorded…show more content…
This was a steady growth, and took longer than it's initial growth 300 years prior. As part of the aftermath, many rural villages were left underpopulated, many pits were left full of dead bodies, that are still there to this day. The church was in shambles after the recent events of the plague. d) Yes. No matter what, you're not going to get an exact death count, if each parish record is averaged out it will give a slightly accurate approximation, that although isn't perfect, but gives a rough idea of the extent of the black death. e) Yes. Before the Black Death, lords had full control over their land, but as the black death swept it's way through England, they soon became victims to it, and as a result, their land was left unoccupied, any average peasant could easily take their vacant land for their own. Not only this, but more and more peasants began dying, leaving far less numbers of them to work under lords, this prompted peasants to realize their value had significantly increased, and demanded a higher pay, and better living conditions. You could even say life got better for peasants as a result of the black…show more content…
Usually depicting a skeleton, accompanied by the pope, a king, child, or labourer, They were meant to have a deeper meaning of death, of which death unites all. They were produced to remind people just how fragile their lives were, and how enjoying life was futile as death was inevitable. b) The skeletons depicted dancing (or behind) people in illustrations of Danse Macabre represent death, and how it unites all, as well as the inability to escape it's grasp. Death is your only companion, even if you were abandoned, it was always there. c) Labourers, (especially peasants) as they were exposed to poor conditions on a regular basis, and died in large numbers. Children, as they would die easily, or if they contracted the plague, were abandoned and left for dead. Kings, as their people were dying and there was nothing they could do, except eventually die. d) Danse Macabre portrays the religious beliefs of Medieval England through the use of the deeper meaning of what each depiction symbolizes, mostly consisting of the personified skeletons. The skeletons displayed their belief of the afterlife. It was widely believed the apocalypse was upon England, somewhat because priests began dying, as depicted by skeletons behind priests in some illustrations. Priests losing their lives even sparked people to lose their faith in the
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