The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1883-02-17
The Black Death.


1348 For two years previously there had
been gradually spreading over the eastern
parts of Europe virulent disease, import
ed from Asia, which made havoc of the
people in some of the finest portions of the
world So dreadful indeed had been its
ravageS that many Saracens, convicted that
the pestilence was sign of Gods wrath
en- account of their unbelief, became Chris
tians, till, finding the Christians to be like
wise afflicted, they returned to their old
faith A series of earthquakes, which
shook the whole of eastern Europe, usher
ed in the year of 1348; mems hearts quailed
for fear, and many were the steps taken
short of draining the towns and providing
better ventilation-with view of propit-
iating the divine wrath. In vain. The
plague which had scourged Asia and the
Greek empire crept slowly but surely west
ward, seemingly uninfuenced by the cold
ness of climate, or intervention of sea.
Boccaccio has written in the preface to his
'Decameron" an account of the plague as
it operated in Florence, which no one who
has ever read it can forget. Within few
months of its slaughter of the Florentines,
it had swept through Spain, France, and
Germany, and had crossed the straits of
Dover.
From June to December, 1348, there
had fallen in England an almost incessant
downpour of rain; the ground was damp,
and the streams became polluted with sur
face-drainage, which was washed like COM
post all over the country, in default of
proper outlet into proper receptacle. In
August the first case was reported; by No
vember the capital was reached, and from
London the plague spread all over the
kingdom, and, says Stowe, $50 wasted and
spoyled the people, that scarcely the tenth
person of all sorts was left alive" This is
not an exaggeration of what happened in
some places; "there died an innumerable
sort, for no man but God only knew how
many" Between the first of January and
July, 1349, there died in the city of Nor
wich 81 ,104 persons; Yarmouth buried y,
052 in the year; and other towns in the
eastern counties suffered nearly as much.
In the thirteen acres of Spittle Croft (the
site of the existing Charterhouse), which
was given by Sir Walter Nanny for the
burial of the dead, because London church
yards were choke full, were buried fifty
thousand persons. The plague was swift
in execution; those seized by it often dying
within six hours, and none lasting over
three days. The ties of nature seemed
loosened, parents forsook their children,
the dead remaining in many instances with
out burial, and were allowed to take their
revenge upon the living by adding fearful
ly to the pestilential character of the at
mosphere. Cattle became infected, with
the disease, and their bodies lay rotting on
the fields untouched even by the birds of
prey. How many of the people died it is
impossible to say with certainty; but the
most reliable accounts state that taking
England all through, half of the entire
population died The eastern counties
never recovered from the ravages of the
plague; places which awhile had been the
seats of manufacture became obscure villa
ges, and to this day may be seen in those
counties places in which large churches
that were once too small for the congrega-
ton, have survived only to attest what the
villages they presided over once were.
Half the population The labors of agri-
culture were neglected; the courts of justice
were not opened; Parliament was sprorogued
from time to time; the whole business of
the country drifted for very lack of hands
to attend to it, and the course of the plague
became so notorious that the Scots swore
by it, by the "foul deth of the English. "
For time Scotland escaped, and the Scots,
taking advantage of the weakened condi
ton of their southern foe, collected an army
for the purpose of finishing what the plague
had spared to do. But into the camp at
Selkirk the ''foul deth' came and slew five
thousand men, and put stop to the pro-
ject of invasion.
All sorts of reasons were assigned for the
visitation. Some declared it was sign of
Gods anger at the extravaganza and etfem-
inancy of the men; others that it was be-
cause of his wrath at the gay costume of
the women, who seemed to have arrayed
themselves more after the fashion adopted
by some women nowadays than either
after Solomon or the lilly of the field.
Some said one thing and some another, but
we do not hear of any one hitting the real
blot, and assigning the cause to the anger
of God against filthy streets, unwholesome
houses, undrained towns, and utter want
of ventilation. The Black Death was a
wonder in its effects rather than in its
causes and was attended with supplement
tarv wonder, that it went away without a
Great Fire, which by burning down the
plague-cherishing towns, might have pre-
vented, as it did later on in London, atare-
currance of the visitation. At intervals
afterwards, the plague returned, though
never again with such destructive power;
it came and went, destroying its victims,
till the people found out what it was that
God was angry about. Thenit went away
finally, leaving behind it promise to re-
turn-a promise which holds good at the
present hour-whenever men should SO
tempt their fate as to provoke it BY dirt and
thoae other denominations unon which II
thrives, W