The Black Death: Europe in the Later Middle Ages

Hi everyone,

Before beginning this week's blog post I've been asked to pass along a message from Clare.

Dear Students,

You will have received en email from SETU (Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units), inviting you to evaluate ATS 1316. Please do so! We really want to know what you think.

These surveys are taken extremely seriously by the University. They are used when staff members apply for promotion, or for other jobs. They are also used to make changes to the units for next year, drawing on student comments. These blogs, for example, emerged out of comments by students that they sometimes felt disconnected during first year. Hence, we have tried to build community and encourage your readings by running these blogs.

So let us know what you think of the unit. YOU ARE VERY POWERFUL!

Many thanks, Clare

 ...

Week 11: Famine and Disease: The Calamitous 14th Century - Tutorial Discussion Post

By: Alice, Blair, Lachlan, Briana and Kristina

Lachlan's thoughts,

Florence had a wool monopoly within its region, being the central trading point for the surrounding area. It was a political powerhouse and through this influence took over the woolen cloth industry, importing and exporting along many major trade routes. 

Venice, with its extensive networks of canals was perfect for both naval trade and ship building. They were as such capable of centralizing ship building. This brought more trade to them and made them the home port for many a ship. From this natural extension was an increase in trading power as they had the capacity to become the centre of the medieval naval world at this time. They, as such, had the biggest commercial maritime structure in the Middle Ages. 
The increase of trade in both areas lead to an ever-rising population, with a greater multitude of jobs becoming available and people being capable of finding passage to the area. The sailors who docked also allowed for the expansion of things such as brothels and taverns. All of this led to an increase of refuse within the area. The water and structures within Venice lead to an easy living area for rats, this, combined with the natural weather-effects in both these areas lead to a breeding ground for disease, thus the close living quarters allowed for the rapid spread of plague not only within these cities but also to and from the cities they traded with. 

Florence in the later Middle Ages

Venice in the 14th Century

Alice's thoughts,

Margaret L King’s chapter from ‘The Renaissance in Europe’ discusses the revolutionary events occurring in Italy during the twelfth and thirteenth centuires. The flourishing economical, societal and educational state of northern Italy meant that ‘ordinary’ people were living very well off and the wool trade in Florence and the shipping and trading industry in Venice allowed for steady influx of wealth and structure in society. 
These thriving conditions led to an immense population boom during this stage; the walls of Florence, arranged in ‘rings’, show that, between 1000-1350, the area of the city had increased to six times the size in this relatively short period.

Revolutionary figures (especially writers and Jurists) were also beginning to emerge, setting the foundation for the coming Renaissance and influencing the general attitudes of the population. The center of intellectual culture and arts moved from the affirmation of Christian values to the interests of the people and rulers.

However, the fall of Republican society to despots and the onslaught of the Black Death in summer 1348 meant that the once-thriving society was rapidly overcome with death.

King talks about the origins of the plague; it was interesting to see that ironically it was the booming trade that was responsible for the transmission of the disease as infected rats and fleas were brought from Asia into Italy via the fleets of trading ships.

Their many attempts to control outbreak were to no avail as their lack of understanding of the plague and infection rendered doctors and citizens helpless. King highlights the corrupting effect on humanity that the widespread death and sickness had and her inclusion of primary literature sources from the few writers still operating at the time convey these feelings of hopelessness and depression.

King also talks about the disruption caused by the Black Death to the role of art and literature in society. Up until around 1350, these fields were flourishing and expanding, however, after the plague first struck no innovations in art were made until after 1400. Prominent writers from the early 14^th century, Petrarch and Boccaccio, survived the first few epidemics and continued to write until their deaths in 1374/1375, which influenced a new group of literary icons around 1400 and renewed the growth of intellectual movement and the Renaissance.

The Black Death

Blair's thoughts,

Florence and Venice were two of the largest and wealthiest city-state republics within Europe during the mid to late medieval period. Both relied upon roaring manufacturing industries, although of respectively different origins, and both had distinctly unique political structures.

Florence, located in northern modern-day Italy, was a city that thrived on wool and banking. The Florentines acted as 'tax collectors' for the Catholic Church for centuries, and this saw the rise of the Florentine banking trade. Although it was not until Papal forces defeated an Imperial uprising in Italy, and annexed the Two Sicilies from the previous Hohenstaufen Dynasty, that wool from this region became readily available to Papally aligned Florence. This saw a boom in Florentine wool refinement, making products like silks and cloths and exporting them all over Europe, East and West and provide the foundations for a thriving, manufacturing driven city-state.

The Florentine Political structure was comprised of 'Guilds', essentially modern day Trade Unions. Among the professions considered in the upper echelon – the Arti Maggiori - of the guild structure were two pertaining to the wool trade, the 'Calimala' (exporters) and the 'Lana' (producers). Also in this upper category where the Guilds of Bankers, Judges, Physicians, Silk Merchants and Furriers. The next echelon comprised 14 Guild professions, and included Blacksmiths, Bakers, Butchers, wine sellers and the like.

From this two tiered Guild system, 9 representatives were instilled for a 2 month period at a time – so no one man could gain too much power and become a quasi king. 6 of the Representatives were drawn from the top tier of Guilds, and three from the bottom tier.

Although this appears democratic, in actual fact the system was rife with corruption. A group of a few hundred powerful men known as the 'Ogliarchs' controlled elections and channelled policy direction. These men also rigged the supposedly 'random' selection of representatives of the Guilds, meaning the Ogliarchs could maintain control.

Interestingly, in 1378, the unrepresented 'Ciompi', the wool workers who had no Guild alignment, staged an uprising against the Ogliarchs, demanding a third tier of Guilds, in which they would be represented. The Ciompi gained political status, with three Guilds set up in their name and instilled various liberties among Florentine citizens, but they were crushed only 10 years later and eliminated from political life.

Venice, located in north eastern modern-day Italy, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, gained independence from the Byzantine Empire in around 1000CE. Venice became a genuinely flourishing and prospering city-state, based hugely on Trade, but more importantly, Ship Building.

Because Ship Building was so important to the Venetian economy, many Noblemen became Merchants who oversaw this construction to make money, while also being involved in government activity. In 1297, these Noblemen who made up the 'Grand Council' voted that from then on, only descendants of their family could be instilled into the Council (which was the Venetian Government), creating a hereditary government instillment process – essentially a monarchy.

Two uprisings where staged against the government in Venice, in 1310 and 1354 respectively, but these where quashed easily. Although, the first did give rise to the 'Council of Ten' who were in charge of security over Venice, under the ruling Government.

This “Artificial Nobility” as described in the reader (which I find bizarre, because when in history has a nobility or monarchy not been manufactured or invented?) continued until the 1640's, when wealthy individuals could buy their way into the ruling elite. The group managed to run what is described as “the most serene republic” for centuries, giving their citizens a great deal of respect, with no wars, judicial transparency and fairness and low taxation. This political structure allowed Venice to last until 1797, one of the the last surviving city states of the Medieval period. 


Briana's thoughts,
The extract from Petrarch's Letter to Posterity indicates quite a pessimistic sense of his legacy.

Firstly, he begins the letter with "you may perhaps have heard something about me- although it is doubtful that my poor little name may travel far in space and time." By the end of the first sentence he has already played down his importance and continues to do so throughout the rest of the work by referring to his work as texts the reader "may have vaguely heard of," himself as a normal man, and his speech as weak and obscure.

Secondly, he doesn't mention any of his accomplishments. A man who was confident in the importance of his achievements would mention them in his autobiography. Petrarch, however, talks about how he was like other people by talking about his youth, old age and interests. This implies a sense that, to Petrarch, his works may not be so significant and what really is important  about him is his similarity to everyone else.

However, the fact that he bothered to write a autobiography at all could be an indicator that he does think his work will be of significance in the future and all the talk about how his work may not survive is a way to make writing about himself seem more humble.

Do you think that Petrarch has a pessimistic or optimistic view based on his autobiography?

Kristina's thoughts,

This section focuses on Margaret King’s understanding of the Black Death in her book The Renaissance in Europe and how the other documents featured in her text and in our reader reflect her knowledge of it.

King’s knowledge of the Plague is realistic and provides very factual information about this topic, such as where it began, the rapid spread of the disease, widespread death and the lack of medical knowledge of the medieval doctors. In her writings she uses the famous description of the plague from the Decameron, written by Giovanni Boccaccio, an Italian humanist, poet and author in the early 1300s.  This particular piece of writing further expands what King is saying as it reveals a time of desperation in humanity, to the point of corruption in the human spirit as a result of the rapidly spreading disease and seemingly inescapable death. However, Boccaccio’s writings indicate that the Black Death would bring about a new generation of literary figures, but scholars believe this is not the case, as they only started emerging only after the Plague had subsided and after the death of Boccaccio and Petrarch, around 1390.

There are also a few other accounts from sources in the reader, many of them demonstrating the European population’s lack of understanding of what was actually occurring. Three articles in particular were significant. The first article states there were frogs raining from the sky, the second is a list of preventative and protective measures against the plague, which recommends such absurd things as to avoid bathing. The third was a letter from the Bishop of Bath and Wells which expresses the idea that he thinks God is punishing humanity. These separate documents display how medieval Europeans perceived reality at that time and show how little they really knew about the Plague, thus extending on King’s understanding of the Black Death.

The Black Death