Up to now, no one really knows how many people were killed by this plague, and no one really knows what kind of adverse effects this plague had on the economic development at that time. The data we are lucky to see today are only obtained after repeated checking by later scholars with various research methods and theories. For example, according to the book History of World Civilization written by the famous American historian Burns and others, the attack of the Black Death on the whole of Europe, coupled with war, famine and other related factors, reduced the total population of the whole of Western Europe by at least half from 1300 to 1450, or even "may be reduced by two thirds."
However, everything has its shortcomings and advantages. When people are immersed in the huge losses caused by this "man-made" natural disaster, some scholars have considered its positive role in the historical development of Europe at that time. For example, this "serious illness" has turned people's eyes from the virtual afterlife to the present world, thus indirectly accelerating the development of the "Renaissance" in Europe. Taking the plague that broke out in the middle of14th century as the breakthrough point, combined with the ethnic and religious forms in Europe at that time and the records of relevant historical materials, and on the basis of previous studies, this paper makes a detailed inquiry into the promotion of this plague to European history (divided into three parts).
A terminal patient of the Black Death in the Middle Ages.
The research content of this paper:
0 1, The Black Death changed people's eyes.
As we all know, religious belief in Christianity is one of the important cornerstones to maintain the normal operation of western society, and Christianity in the Middle Ages usually conveyed to people at that time that the life in the afterlife is far more important than the life in the present world, and only through the painstaking practice of the present world can we exchange the salvation of the soul, thus being worthy of having a happy afterlife. Obviously, this idea is tantamount to a "good medicine" for believers in peacetime, because it can help most people accept exploitation from the ruling class at any time without disturbing the ruling order.
However, due to the sudden arrival of the Black Death and its irresistible trend, some devout believers, after trying their best to "redeem" themselves, began to feel disappointed with the still indifferent God, so that when the haze of the Black Death quietly dispersed, people also had a brand-new view of fate, that is, things are impermanent. Since fate is unpredictable and God cannot rely on it, there is only one thing to do. Obviously, although people at that time could not explain the source of the plague in a more scientific way, some of them had a brand-new way of thinking. These people no longer believe that the plague has anything to do with the so-called God, not to mention such absurd remarks as "the plague is God's punishment". In a sense, people at that time have gradually changed from a body driven by the spirit of others to an individual who really has his own "spirit" and can independently think about the value of human life through this plague, which undoubtedly plays a considerable role in promoting the emergence of a new idea and even a new era. As schlegel Mueller said:
Death is what leads people to the highest peak of life, and it is what makes life completely meaningful for the first time.
02. The Black Death accelerated the decline of the medieval church system.
As mentioned earlier, before the claws of the "plague god" touched the medieval human beings, the position of the church in people's hearts was extremely lofty and perfect, and it could even be said that it was "invulnerable to all poisons." Therefore, in a sense, the church in this period undertook the task of spiritual comfort and ideological integration. But it turns out that when the "plague god" really extends its claws to human beings, the function of the church in spiritual comfort and ideological integration is unqualified. For the most obvious example, when disaster strikes, the clergy who used to be the spiritual pillar of the people take the lead in evading their duties, even the holiest Pope Clement VI.
Moreover, when the "Black Death" raged on a large scale, no matter ordinary people, businessmen, believers or religious leaders, they could not escape and eventually died at the hands of the "plague god", even the priest who was called the savior of human soul was not spared. According to relevant statistics, taking Yorkshire, England at that time as an example, more than half of the priests in this area alone died of the "Black Death". Undoubtedly, under the fact that a large number of priests, priests and other clergy have not survived the epidemic, absurd remarks such as "plague is God's punishment for sinners" have been shattered. Of course, more importantly, the plague gradually made people understand at that time that churches and priests, usually called "human saviors", were no different from ordinary people in the face of disasters and did nothing. Over time, when this "advanced" idea gradually germinates in people's minds, the original authority of the integration of politics and religion in the Middle Ages will naturally be challenged by the people. Of course, this is the main factor leading to the decline of the church system in medieval Europe, and other bad practices such as excessive tax increase after the epidemic are also factors that cannot be ignored. In short, the "Black Death" was only the carrier that led to the decline of the church system, and it was the bad behavior of the priests themselves that really overthrew the position of the church in people's minds.
03. The Black Death promoted the development of the new bourgeoisie.
As the article said at the beginning, the most obvious and direct result of the "Black Death" was a "sudden decrease in population". From the perspective of economics, we can also know that a large reduction in population will inevitably lead to a reduction in limited labor force, which will lead to a rapid increase in workers' wages to some extent. In this case, it is of course unrealistic for the feudal landlord class to reduce workers' wages before the outbreak of the "Black Death". Once this happens, class contradictions will inevitably intensify and even an uprising will break out. Among them, the most famous are the peasant uprising led by Walter Taylor in Britain and the handicraft worker uprising in Florence, France. Although these uprisings failed in the end, they effectively promoted the gradual changes of social economy, politics and social class structure. In the long run, the status and authority of feudal landlords and the old aristocracy will inevitably have to "make way" for the emerging bourgeoisie because of the huge impact.
To sum up, although the Black Death brought huge population losses to Europe, as the famous German philosopher georg wilhelm friedrich hegel said, "evil" often became the driving force for historical development.