January 26, 2013
The Black Death: How different were Christian and Muslim responses?
It was a deadly disease that was causing destruction throughout the middle Ages.
It devastated many people as well as killed many people. It had many names such as the
Black Death, the great plague, and even the great pestilence. None of these names can describe the amount of struggle and devastation this disease brought upon the people living during the medieval times. This deadly disease killed about 25 million people in
Europe in the Late 1340s. The plague followed trade routes throughout the Middle East,
North Africa, and Europe. Not much knowledge of cleanliness and how sickness was caused was known during the Middle Ages but most believe that the …show more content…
In Europe people believed cause for the plague (document 5) that had nothing to do with religion were miasma carried by warm southern winds, excessive clothing, march 20 1345, and outrageous fashion. Near
East people believed that causes for the plague were miasma due to wind carrying stench of Mongol bodies from Crimea, miasma due to overpopulation causing “evil monsters”, war ovens, demons, sin; alcohol and prostitution. People in Europe believed that some ways to prevent themselves from getting the plague were to build fires to purify contaminated air, reside in a house facing north to avoid southerly winds, fill house with sweet smelling plants, drink liquefied Armenian clay, rose water, peppermint, avoid sleeping on back, and breathe in latrine vapors. Near East people believed that some ways of preventing themselves from getting this disease was to consume pickled
onions, pumpkin seeds, and sour juices, build fires and fumigate, drink in a solution of
Armenian clay, pass severe laws against alcohol and prostitution, stay indoors, avoid