Women In Medieval Europe

The disease was spread by the vector Rattus rattus and transmitted to people by the fleas. This organism was not new to the world in the fourteenth century, as Europe had experienced the Justinian plague in 542 AD . However, the people of Europe did not have any natural immunity or understanding of the disease caused by a bacterium Yersinia pestis. The people became aware of the relationship between rat and fleas only in late nineteenth century .

The Plague During the 1300s Asia was struck with one of the most deadly diseases, the plague. This deadly disease is very contagious, if you are in the same room with the person that is infected, the disease is already inside you and you could soon get it. Back in the 1300s when the plague broke out the people in the towns would wear cloth over their mouths and noses to protect them. After having contact with the infected person their clothes would be burned to kill the disease.

The Start Of Something Devastating During the the Renaissance the Bubonic plague killed millions of people in Europe. The plague “is a severe and potentially deadly bacterial infection that affects humans and mammals”( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). In 1347 the plague first arrived to Europe it was something never seen before but heard of. People had theories of what was the cause of the plague but they were wrong not only did the bubonic plague bring death to most of the European population but it also caused an economic depression.

Merchant boats with stow-away rats infested with fleas carried the illness from port to port. When the boats docked, the fleas bit the townspeople on shore giving them the sickness. These people would then in turn spread the sickness to their friends and family. Soon, whole villages were infected. After several years, the plague came to an end, but the results of this disease left many farms, villages, and cities barren and empty.

The Black Death The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague, was one of the biggest pandemics in the world. It started to spread from Eastern China, to Europe in the early 1300’s, and it reoccurred multiple times during the years to come. Merchant ships and rodents were the two main ways this disease spread and infected humans (The Black Death 1348). The symptoms for this plague were extremely painful and death was the most likely outcome in most cases.

The Black Plague begined in the 1348-50s, through this disease it never really vanished that quickly. The disease is caused by bacterial strain called Yersinia pestis. This bacteria is found on animals throughout the world and is usually transmitted to humans through fleas. There is 3 plagues Bubonic Plague, Septicmetic Plague, and Pneumonic Plage. The Bubonic Plague is the most common form, referring to painful swollen lymph nodes—that appears around the groin, armpit, or the neck.

This plague wreaked havoc through the Western world in 1347 (Backman 348). The plague was thought to have been carried into Western Europe by rats brought in on ships from eastern Asia. It is thought that the progression of the disease was due to the violent advance of the Mongol army into Europe (Backman 348). The plague killed over fifty million in an insignificant amount of time. The deaths were due to the people of the Western world having no built up immunity to

(The French biologist Alexandre Yersin discovered this germ at the end of the 19th century.) They know that the bacillus travels from person to person pneumonically, or through the air, as well as through the bite of infected fleas and rats. Both of these pests could be found almost everywhere in medieval Europe, but they were particularly at home aboard ships of all kinds–which is how the deadly plague made its way through one European port city after another. Not long after it struck Messina, the Black Death spread to the port of Marseilles in France and the port of Tunis in North Africa. Then it reached Rome and Florence, two cities at the center of an elaborate web of trade routes.

Whilst medieval men were usually classified according to their professions, women were recognised mainly by their sexual statuses.33 The Welsh law particularly emphasises the importance of virginity upon marriage. In the marriage arrangement the girl was seen as 'the prime commodity ' which lost its value if the husband discovered she was not a virgin.34 In that case she would lose her share of the marriage-wealth if the couple should separate in the initial seven years of their union.35 As Irish law text contains no such information, it can be interpreted as a sign that in Gaelic society girl 's virginity did not affect her 'market-value '.36 Stacey is convinced that it was shameful for a woman to get married for a second time37 and non-virginal ladies would struggle to find a new spouse.38 However, considering how flexible was divorce (as we will see shortly) and the thoroughness with which the procedure and post-divorce arrangements were recorded, one gets the impression that divorce and re-marrying was a common possibility and one would struggle to find the proposed hints of shamefulness

The black plague, now called the bubonic plague, also

By the end of the fourteenth century, the Black Death killed nearly 60% of Europe’s population. First arriving in Europe through sick merchants on Genoese trading ships that docked in Sicily, the plague caused boils, fever, diarrhea, horrible pain, and shortly, death. No one was sure how the Death spread, and this combined with the fast course the disease took and the primitive medical practices of the time allowed for the disease to spread through the continent in devastating time. It only took about twenty-three days from the point of infection for the plague to be fatal (Benedictow). The Black Death spread extensively through Europe, affecting both nobility and peasants.

During the mid-fourteenth century, a plague hit Europe. Initially spreading through rats and subsequently fleas, it killed at least one-third of the population of Europe and continued intermittently until the 18th century. There was no known cure at the time, and the bacteria spread very quickly and would kill an infected person within two days, which led to structural public policies, religious, and medical changes in Europe. The plague had an enormous social effect, killing much of the population and encouraging new health reforms, it also had religious effects by attracting the attention of the Catholic Church, and lastly, it affected the trade around Europe, limiting the transportation of goods. As a response to the plague that took place

Any person will think that Saudi women and women during the Dark Ages have nothing in common, for Dark ages were thousands of years ago, and they are living in different time and cultures. However, despite the time gap in the both the eras they still have minor similarities and difference for sure. Both live in societies that are male oriented, both are commanded by their husband, both have limited jobs. But they also have difference one has a voice and role, while the other has no voice neither role, and one can choose her husband, while the other can not, one gets paid equally with men, while the other get paid less. Both societies in the Dark Ages and Saudi Arabia are controlled by men, and the man has the power over women.

Medieval women What were the most significant challenges that woman faced during this time period? Many medieval women were seen as a weaker sex in society, being treated unfairly and poorly by men. They had suffered through strong sexism, causing disadvantages as being unable to have the choice to vote, marry and when wanting to have children. In most cases, women were expected from their husbands to do their gender roles which had consisted of taking care of the children, cooking and cleaning.

Women throughout history have played many different roles in the world. Historically speaking, women were seen as the possessions of their fathers, brothers, and husbands. They accepted their positions in a man’s world without complaint and were supportive of their men. Women in medieval Germany were expected to be good mothers, wives, and hosts, but Kriemhild broke with tradition by ignoring these typical womanly roles in exchange for more masculine ones. She learns to question their roles and places in society.