Imagine living in the year 1348, the time of the Bubonic Plague or Black Death.

You and
your family lived an ordinary life until one day your sister gets sick. This isnt as bad as you
assume until your father gets sick and by the next day your sister is already dead. After your
father gets this new plague that seems to be going around, its your turn to get the plague and
your father dies of this terrible disease. You then realize that your time has also come and there
is nothing to do, and you pray even though you will still die. When you do die, the only thing that
will happen is that your body will get buried without a coffin or a single sign of respect. Thats
how life was for those living during the Black Death era. Times werent easy, but all the people
could do is keep their hopes up and await their death to come. The Black Plague was so
devastating to the European society because death rates were increasing and there was a
decrease of faith in religion.
First of all, one of the reasons that the Black Death was so devastating to the European
society was because death rates were increasing. According to The Decameron, 1350 CE it
stated, ...did not know how to cure; as a consequence, very few were ever cured; all died three
days after the appearance of the first outward signs, some lasted a bit longer This shows that
people were dying because there was no remedy or antidote to cure the people with the Black
Death. Based on The Florentine Chronicle (C.1370), it stated, Physicians could not be found
because they had died like the others. And those who could be found wanted vast sums in
hands before they entered the house. This shows that the doctors were uninformed and that
since they didnt have information on this new virus, the doctors were also dying. Additionally the
same article states, And when they did enter, they check the pulse with face turned away. They
inspected the urine from a distance and with something odoriferous [to block the smell] under
their nose. This shows that when the doctors tried inspecting the people with the disease
everything was done from a distance. As the map of the European sea and land trade routes
showed that the cities in which people were trading were very close to each other. This proves
that since people were trading in their cities it was easier for the plague to spread because
people were having physical contact more often.
Furthermore, another reason that the Black Death was so devastating to European
society was because there was a decrease of faith in religion. As it shows in The Plague in
Siena: An Italian Chronicle, Agnolo Di Tura, 1348, The city of Siena seemed almost uninhabited
for almost no one was found in the city. This shows that the Black plague left cities abandoned
and that most people didnt have faith because they didnt care about what happened. If they did
care about their cities, then they would not have lost their faith. Located in The Plague in Siena:
An Italian Chronicle, Agnolo Di Tura, 1348 it stated, They died by hundreds, both day and night

and all were thrown in...ditches and covered with earth...There was no one who wept for any
death, all awaited death. And so many believed that it was the end of the world. This
demonstrates that there was a lot of chaos occurring because people were dying by hundreds
and then just thrown in ditches. People had lost their faith and just awaited to die because they
thought the world was coming to an end. As it shows in document six, all who survived gave
themselves over to pleasures: monks, priests, nuns, and lay men and women all enjoyed
themselves, and none worried about spending and gambling. This proves that after the Black
Death everyone was careless and even those of religion went on with their lives and did
anything they wanted because they believed themselves rich since they had escaped and
regained the world.
In conclusion, the Black Plague not only ruined many lives, but killed a whole society of
people. Perhaps if the doctors or scientists had known more about this devastating virus then
many more lives could have been saved. Those who followed a certain religion were actually
glad because they believed that the Black Death would bring them to God where they wanted to
be. Today, we have a cure for the plague, which in the time when it first came around no one
knew how to cure themselves from this terrible disease. At the end of the day, the European
society was devastated because of the Black Death because it was something new to them that
couldnt be cured so easily as it can today.