Neil Patel
Ms.Fennessy
LAL I, 2A
25 February 2015 Elizabethan Era Black Plague Research Paper The Bubonic Plague ravaged through England and the rest of Europe for nearly 300 years. The waves of the plague tore apart normal day-to-day life wherever it went. Many of England’s large population died from the plague. Millions in total died in Europe from this deadly and dreadful disease. The Era of Queen Elizabeth, known as the Elizabethan era was an era of art and revolution, as well as an era of the Plague. The Black Plague is an important part of Elizabethan society. During Elizabethan England, thousands died all over the country to this devastating disease. The Elizabethan Physicians, whom were not allowed to dissect humans, deceased or alive. This was strictly condemned by the church. Traditional medicine such as herbs, spells, and charms were also…show more content… They also had many ideas on how it could be prevented. The Physicians first thought it was an airborne disease, due to the foul smell of decaying flesh called “miasma.” Many people fled to the countryside to avoid this “Evil Air.” They carried baskets of sweet scents to mask the miasma. Few believed sound could drive the plague away, people rang church bells, fired cannons as well as yelled as a way to produce sound. All the citizens of England were terrified of the plague. William Shakespeare was one of them. He had lost 3 of his sisters as well as his 11-year-old son. Shakespeare was not able to show his plays in 1593, 1603, and 1608 due to Parliament closing all Theatres due to the outbreaks. Plague doctors also believed bathing was bad as it “opened pores,” allowing the plague to get in. No one bathed themselves with the exception of the hands and feet. Elizabethan physicians thought that bloodletting was the natural cure to everything, but it only hastened the death of the infected. Nearly all the sick