Bubonic Plague: The Spanish Inquisition

The Prince: A Decidedly unMedieval Piece of Work The Prince, written by Niccolo Machiavelli, was a secular handbook that dealt with modern statecraft and leadership. In fact, this was the first modern book that discussed political science. This book has influenced many well-known leaders, such as Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. This essay will discuss the past behaviours of Machiavelli to prove that this book, The Prince, is a decidedly unMedieval piece of work which does not follow the idea of living life so that it is worthy of respect and honour, as stated in the Medieval Code of Chivalry.

Thus Machiavelli believed that the best form of society was one where the Prince ruled his kingdom

The reason the bubonic plague was so devastating to the European society is because no one was prepared for so many people to die so quickly. This event that reached Italy in the spring of 1348 was one of the most deeply stressing moments of humanity that faced most of Europe. No only did 50% of Europe’s population die it affected every single part of the European society. The culture, education, economy, religion, and the simplicity of life was turned upside down from this epidemic. Not only was were the symptoms of the plague bad, while you had the symptoms you suffered with the misery effects of the plague that there was no cure for.

Europe in the fifteen hundreds was a dangerous, local, hierarchic, tradition-bound, slow moving, and poor filled with the tasks of providence, salvation and community. Europe during the fifteen hundreds were a dangerous place; disease, famine, and violence all prevented the population of the era to live a long life. One of the major killers during the time was disease. Disease and plagues killed major parts of the population, the bubonic plague, for example, claimed the lives of perhaps a third of Europe’s population in five years.

In mid-fourteenth century Europe a plague (also known as the Black Death) appeared in which the first wave killed millions of people. But the plague didn’t stop there, it persisted, spreading around the whole known world and exerting its power on people up until the eighteenth century. In Europe there were many responses to the plague which included helping to stop and cure the plague, profiting off it, and trying to protect and care for their loved ones. One response to the plague was to help stop and cure the plague. As the traveler Heinrich von Staden observes, “....

The “Black Death” or bubonic plague that occurred in the middle ages, precisely about 1347 to 1351, was a catastrophic plague, or severe illness, that traveled to Europe and infected and killed at least 25 million people. Unfortunately for the Europeans at that time, there was no medical knowledge to cope with this disease. Ultimately, what made this plague so deadly was that the symptoms were fatal and it spread very quickly. In today’s time, the bubonic plague is easily treatable and the symptoms are not severe.

to 1750 C.E, one factor remained continuous in the relationship between Europe and Islam; war. During this time, the Islamic faith became a great military and political power based around faith. This increased the power held in Muslim hands as well as Europe’s aversion to the political and military superiority of Islam. This aversion caused a number of wars to occur continuously throughout the time period. The first of these wars was the Crusades, a series of nine religious battles beginning in 1096 that lasted for almost two hundred years.

The Prince is based around the need for bold, prompt plans, the need of action, and the handling of politics as a science, full of rules and conditions. Machiavelli explains that “a prince must be both human and beast, and as beast he must be both lion and fox. He must embrace the flaws of humanity; he must rely on both thought and action; he must look to the past as he heads toward the future.” I enjoyed how Machiavelli simplified things in order to better understand them. There were two quotes that I rather enjoyed, Machiavelli wrote, “Then virtue boldly shall engage/And swiftly vanquish barbarous rage/Proving that ancient and heroic pride/

The Black Death or Bubonic Plague was a plague that originated in Asia and spread to Europe first to Sicily in 1347, and then across all of Europe where it raged until around 1352, however, it never completely went away. Wherever it went as its name implies, the Black Plague reaped men like wheat, with an estimated thirty-three percent of the population dying. The states of Northern Italy were hit especially hard by the Bubonic Plague since it had a much higher urban population, which unfortunately led to a higher proportion of the population dying. Contemporary writers such as the prominent Florentine Boccaccio wrote that the plague killed an infinite number of people. This massive loss of life severely negatively affected the economy of all of Europe and resulted in a massive economic downturn that Europe would not recover for decades following.

The reactions from the Christians and the Muslims to the greatly feared disease, known as the Black Death or the Great Plague were different in several ways. The first Plague was documented from 541 to 544 CE. Known as the Plague of Justinian. The Plague came in three different ways: bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. With bubonic being the most common.

The Middle Ages led to the Age of Exploration. The Middle Ages (500 CE-1500 CE) was a time in history after the Roman Empire collapsed (476 CE). The Age of Exploration was when people traveled off to foreign lands and explored or traded. The Middle Ages had a lot of important events that led to the Age of Exploration. Here are some examples the fall of the Roman Empire, Feudalism,The Crusades, the Black Death, the Commercial Revolution, the Renaissance, and the Vikings.

The Black Death was a disease that had a catastrophic impact on Europe. Reaching Europe in 1347, the plague killed an estimation of one-third of the population in the first wave. Each document varies with its reasons for the cause of the plague and how to deal with it. The first document Ordinances against the Spread of Plague seemed to blame Pisa and Lucca for the plague and thus, began to forbid contact with those places. It was forbidden for citizens of Pistoia to go to, or have contact with anyone or anything from Pisa or Lucca.

According to Ole J. Benedictow “Inevitably [the Black Plague] had an enormous impact on European society and greatly affected the dynamics of change and development from the medieval to Early Modern period. A historical turning point, as well as a vast human tragedy, the Black Death of 1346-53 is unparalleled in human history.” It was one of the most devastating diseases in history

Machiavelli’s The Prince was written during a time of turmoil, which then the book

The Hundred Year’s War was a long-time conflict between the kings and kingdoms of France and England over the succession of the French throne. When Charles IV died his closest male relative was his nephew, Edward III of England. Not only was Edward III just fifteen years old but also his claim to the throne was through a female. A French assembly came together and chose Phillip of Valois as King Phillip VI while Edward III made his claim to the throne. This sparked an engagement between the two which led to the beginning of the war.