The Black Plague

The most common belief was that God had sent the plague and that it was his punishment for the sins humankind had committed. Even innocent people, such as infants, had to suffer for the horrible crimes of others. The church was quick to condemn gambling, excessive drinking, the immodesty of women and the laziness of peasants. Guilt lay upon every man's heart. Therefore it was only natural that the first measures taken against the plague were the confession of all sins and prayer for forgiveness. Learned men and women, who did not believe that the plague was sent by god or superstitions, attempted to come up with a more logical explanation. Some thought that a "mysterious poisonous cloud" gradually moving across Europe brought the plague. Finally, the most extreme explanation involved the changing of seasons and the conjunctions of the planets. The weather had been affected by the altered seasons, which was in connection to the conjunction of Mars and Jupiter. The hot and wet planet of Jupiter, when combined with the anger of Mars, created pestilent vapors. The wind on Earth then contributed to the spread of the plague.
             There are quite a few ways for any disease, such as the plague, to spread so rapidly. First, many victims to the plague would receive it within immediate contact to any person or belongings to that person would be infected. Clothes, possessions, and anything used by the infected person were a risk to any healthy person. Second, there was no cure for the disease. Many people were hired as doctors with little or no training and they had neither the technology nor the understanding of the disease to cure it. The Black Death would be contracted and most times people would die within three days of receiving it. Depending on which of the three types of the plague a person contracted, a person had anywhere from twenty-four hours to three days to live. This meant that anyone in contact with them might not know they are infected unless extreme side effects are shown right away.