The Black Plague was an infectious disease expanding its deadly claws to Europe in the middle ages. The second pandemic in the bubonic plague timeline with its origins in China, took rides on trading ships, reaching Europe. Caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria, this was the deadliest plague in the history of humankind. However, one cannot overlook the silver lining to this disaster as several technologies saw the sun for the first time during this period. Arguably, the Black Death was the grandfather of the Technical Revolution in the middle ages. What made Europe great during the bubonic plague were inventions like the heavy plow, and with more significant optimization in agriculture came more wealth and greater literacy, opening up arenas for technological advancements.
Thus, in inference, the technological advances led to wealth and literacy, which one can trace back to the devastating Black Death – because the reduced population caused agricultural advancements in both management and efficiency.
The invention of the Great Heavy Plow:
The discovery of the heavy plow in the 6th Century revolutionized farming worldwide. These heavy plows introduced wheels, which replaced the runners, causing food production to increase considerably.
Mutation in Human Biology:
Recent studies showed many European descendants who withstood the black plague had altered and advanced genes which automatically increase the resistance to such diseases.
Discovery of perfumes:
During this pandemic, doctors thought that pockets of poisonous air were responsible for the plague and thought that one could purify the air by using sweet-smelling herbs. Prior to this, humans did not use perfume frequently. However, with the outbreak of the Black Plague, the use of scents became common.
A concoction of orange and dry cloves was among the most popular fragrant. Aromatic flowers, herbs, spices, and various mixtures having resisting powers against the disastrous black plague was a common belief.
The emergence of Hospitals:
Prior to the outbreak of the ghastly pandemic, the notorious Black Plague, hospitals were just places for the sick to be isolated to restrict infections. People regarded these diseases as retribution for wrongdoings. Gradually, hospitals became places of religiousness where confessions and prayers were treatment forms.Medieval hospitals lacked skilled medical professionals or nurses and instead had religious personnel like abbots and abbesses. It was the Black Death which revolutionized the hospitals introducing necessary modifications in the medical industry. Medicine stopped being theoretical and got more pragmatic. The discipline also included dissection and operations.
Sir Isaac Newton’s discoveries:
Isaac Newton was quarantined during the black plague, during which he discovered differential and integral calculus, explored optics, formulated a theory of universal gravitation, and experimenting with prisms and investigating light created the foundation of his legendary career.
Rise of Aromatherapy:
During the time of the Black Death, a popular treatment was aromatherapy, and people carried sweet-smelling flowers or herbs as prevention. This led to the birth of aromatherapy. Even today, many people use aromatic essences, oils, candles to reduce stress and encourage healthy lifestyles.
Coining of the term “Quarantine.”
In 1348, the Black Death started to spread to Venice’s city, due to which the city council radically closed down the city’s waters for navigation. All ships that came to Venice went through a period of 40 days of isolation to ensure they were clear of the black plague virus. This was known as “quaranti giorni” in Italian. The term quarantine emerged in modern-day English meaning isolation of something to cease the spread of disease or virus, in this case, the pathogen responsible for transmitting the Black Plague.
Introduction of clocks:
The development of the verge escapement ultimately led to the rise of the mechanical clocks for the first time in around 1300 AD, a time when Europe was undergoing the devastating Black Plague. It became widespread around Europe by the 15th Century. This invention challenged the popularity of hourglasses, finally changing people’s perception of viewing time.
Making of the rhyme “Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses:”
FitzGerald claimed that this rhyme arose from the Great Plague in London in 1665, an extension of the Black plague. The roses are a metaphor for deadly rashes; the posies meant preventative measure; the “a-tishoos” referred to sneezing symptoms, and the indication of everyone falling was death.
Black Death Facts:
- In England, a village voluntarily quarantined themselves to stop further spreading of the black plague. In 1665, residents of Eyam in Derbyshire, who got infected, decided to close down their village to prevent neighboring villages from catching the disease.
- Nostradamus was one of the first doctors to get the black plague treatment right.
- Fleas transmitted the plague virus to animals. While cats and rats were very vulnerable to the virus, dogs never got sick by fleas.
- The only ruling king who succumbed to the black plague was Castile and Leon’s King, Alfonso XI.
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