High (GATE) Student's I-Search Report

 

Exploring the Bubonic Plague

 

GATE Student
5/23/03
Language Arts
3rd period

 

Introduction  

Ring around the rosies,
Pocket full of posies,
Ashes, Ashes,
We all fall down...

Do you know the gruesome origin of this little song? How it was composed by children who watched as death consumed the people around them everyday? I found out about the horrible plague that swept all of Europe and guess what? You're about to find out about it too..

This is Helen. I chose this topic because I wasn't really extremely interested in anything and I thought a deadly disease that wasn't curable and killed a lot of people would be fun to research. The name "Black Death" caught my attention so I picked this topic. I think you'll find it pretty engrossing also. Read it already!

What is the bubonic plague?

The bubonic plague was an epidemic that swept across Europe killing thousands of people. It was characterized with the black bumps (buboes) that formed underneath the skin. It is also referred to as "Black Death" because once the buboes changed color to black, death followed soon afterwards. It was known by many names like The Great Mortality and The Pestilence. Symptoms include high fever, chills, sores, boils, nausea, and pain. Red blotches appeared on your skin and your lymph nodes swelled. When your lymph nodes, which were areas of white blood cells whose function was to kill bacteria and germs that could harm the body,  became hard and black, often gushing blood and pus, you would die pretty quickly.

When I found out these details, I was really disgusted. I was also extremely grateful that this plague was no longer around.

How did people get infected?

In 1898, a French scientist found out that fleas from infected rats passed on the disease to humans. This discovery came too late for the thousands of Europeans that died during that period of time. They never guessed that death came along with the huge trading ships. Rats flocked off the ships and hid in alleys and in the streets. It is thought that the plague might have originated in China. The path of the epidemic followed that of trade routes.

I was a bit surprised that something as small as a flea could cause the deaths of so many people. Oh well, as they say, "Sometimes, it's the tiniest things that kill you."

What happened before this period of time?

In the Middle Ages, Europe was dominated by a feudal system. This system kept the rich in power and oppressed the poor. Nobles owned castles and manors surrounded by acres of land. Peasants farmed and cultivated the land in exchange for shelter, protection and a small plot of land. The Church emphasized that this system was God's plan. No one questioned the demands of the Church. Three hundred years before the Great Mortality, the European population boomed and tripled. More land was farmed but there was still a food shortage. Peasants left farms to look for a better life in the cities. This huge movement resulted in overcrowded cities filled with people with no particular skills.

Once gunpowder was invented, the lords of the castles and manors found it increasingly difficult to protect their property. In addition, the nobles had to deal with the consequences resulting from the war between France and England. Even with these things happening, the nobles still remained firmly in control.

What happened during this period of time?

It started out in the small seaport in Messina, Sicily. People began coming down with a deadly sickness. No one knew the cause of this plague.

"It was such a frightful thing," observed Giovanni Boccaccio (joh-VAHN-nee boh-KAH-chee-oh), an Italian writer, "that when it got into a house... no one remained. Frightened people abandoned the house and fled to another."

Families were torn apart, and corpses littered the streets. The smell of death lingered in the air. The sick were forced into tight airless rooms to die, in frantic efforts to stop the epidemic.

"The fact was that one citizen avoided another, that almost no one cared for his neighbor, and relatives rarely or hardly ever visited each other--they stayed far apart. This disaster struck such fear into the hearts of men and women that brother abandoned brother, and very often wife abandoned husband, and -- even worse, almost unbelievable -- fathers and mothers neglected to tend and care for their children." -Giovanni Boccaccio.

People turned to the powerful Christian Church for answers. The clergymen blamed God. They explained that this was God's punishment for their sins, one of the calamities (war, earthquakes, etc.) that would mark the return of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. This second coming was predicted before.

Christians blamed foreigners, Jews, the poor, and travellers for the plague. They did not tolerate Jews because they refused to accept Christianity. Some were forced and tortured into confessing that they had poisoned drinking sources. Hundreds of innocent people were killed. Pope Clement VI made a law forbidding the persecution of Jews but this came much too late. Few lives were saved by this law. Foreigners and the poor were also mistreated and murdered.

As the plague grew worse and people continued to die, the people's faith in the Church weakened. People thought it was the end of the world. Priests of that time offered holy communion water on long handled spoons instead of approaching the possibly sick followers. Doctors held vinegar sponges to noses & burned aromatic plants to keep from getting sick. People prayed but nothing worked. Priests and clergymen were overwhelmed and they fled in fear of catching the plague. People who had accepted the words and teachings of the priests in blind faith, now became uncertain. People began to doubt the once all-powerful Catholic Church. Priests died in mass numbers.

The poor now had some power that they hadn't had before. Because there were so few laborers, workers now did not have to do what their masters wanted. Prices for goods rose because there were no longer craftsmen available to produce them. Salaries also rose rapidly. Peasants didn't have to work anymore so for once they could stay home and relax. Some travelled to other places to seek their fortunes.

Scientists desperately tried to find a cure to the raging epidemic. They made up impossible theories that caused panic and chaos.

Some local leaders attempted to restore some order. In one small city, corpses were required to be put into wooden coffins and nailed shut to keep the smell from emerging. (They believed that smell passed the epidemic.)

Unable to find the cause, people began blaming others. The rich blamed the poor, the healthy taunted the sick, and Christians blamed the Jews. Many people were murdered. In Strasbourg, Jews that refused to convert to Christianity were burned at the stake.

During this period of death and destruction, when corpses were piled all over, the smell of death was unavoidable. Citizens who lived in the cities were unprotected from the plague. It spread like wildfire from house to house. Men covered their faces with hankerchiefs and women held bouquets of flowers to their noses to mask the smell of rotting flesh and sickness. The children who grew up with death all around them. They made up little games that reflected what they saw. One of the most popular games that was made up at this time was "Ring Around the Rosies." Surely you have heard of this? I remember I used to hold hands with some of my friends and turn in a circle singing this little song. At the end, we would all fall to the ground. Little did I know the true meaning of this seemingly innocent little child's game.

(there are several versions of this song)
Ring around the rosies,
(ring around the rosies represented the skin blotches that became ringed in black)

Pocket full of posies,
(posies were the flowers women carried to disguise the stench of rotting corpes)

Achoo, achoo
(also: Ashes, ashes)
(Sneezing came with the fever)
(Ashes came from when bodies were burned)

We all fall down!
(When people died)

The Church's Answer

When people turned to the Church for deliverance from the plague, they prescribed the following:

1) Recite special prayers for protection and attend processions.
2) Recite prayers for the King and the Church and also attend special masses to confess and clear sins that you committed.
3) Indulgences or relief from punishment (in this world or in the next) would be rewarded to those who stuck to these practices.
4) Special prayers to the Saints that protected people from the plague.
5) You should not wear "indecent" clothes because it is one of the causes of the plague.
6) Pilgrimages to religious places (Cathedrals or Roman Churches.. etc.)
7) Give items to the clergymen (priests, etc.) to persuade them to help "intercede" or prevent the plague from befalling the donor.
8) Avoid doctors and do not take medications so you do not interfere with "God's Wrath". (Doctors in paris argued that God's wisdom had given them the knowledge to cure so healing should be considered God's gift.)

What happened after the plague?

After the devasting effects of the bubonic plague, it would take hundreds of years for Europe to heal and rebuild all the damage. The plague killed off nearly 25 million people in five years, nearly one third of the entire population!

Whole families were wiped out. Castles and manors lay empty without any heirs. The few that survived simply stepped inside and claimed the abandoned properties. Cities and towns had lost people by the thousands. Monasteries who used to house nearly one hundred and fifty monks now dwindled to seven or eight. Some villages were left empty. In addition, farming and agriculture was disrupted. There was plenty of land and tools but no workers. Food prices plunged and for once there was a surplus of food!

Doubt in God made people more thoughtful. They began to explore more about the world around them other than accepting every explanation the Church threw at them. This helped Europeans come out of the Dark Ages and progress into the Renaissance.

Peasants, who used to be at the bottom of the feudal system, now had power. The oppressed working class revolted. For the next few centuries the European society would be in a tug-of-war between returning to the old feudal system or progressing into a new economic system.

As a result of the deadly epidemic, there was also a shortage of skilled craftsmen. Craftsmen required long apprenticeships to become good at their craft. Now there were few replacements since the plague killed so many of them. Prices for goods like saddles shot up.

Since there was such a small number of people to do the work, inventors came up with labor-saving devices. The printing press was also invented during this time of rebirth.

The plague of 1347-48 helped Europe advance in language, education, literature, philosophy, art, and architecture.

Before the plague, Greek, Latin, and French were the main languages in schools. However, the plague wiped out the professors that knew the languages. This made people realize the importance of their native languages in Europe. This spread a new way of thinking. Nationalism (loyalty to one's country) grew and spread. There were few professors and students, many colleges had to close. Even so, the interest in native language led people to make new colleges and new courses. The new schools taught the native languages of the the region. 

This new interest in learning led to more reading. More books were printed due to the printing press. Books were also printed in native languages which made more people read, therefore increasing the literacy rate. Those who could not read listened as others read aloud.

Even as European society gradually changed, the plague was not forgotten. Writers wrote often about it. A common theme was "danse macabre," which meant "dance of death." Murals of the Grim Reaper, representing the time of darkness and death were painted.

In the times before the great plague, buildings were complicated, beautiful, and extravagantly decorated. Now after the effects of the plague on the population, the construction workers that survived had a lot of work to do. They didn't have as much time to spend on buildings, so a simpler architectural design replaced the old ordinate Gothic style.

I had learned and heard about the Renaissance but never learned of the plague that came before it. Now I know why the Renaissance was such an important time for Europe.

 

How did they cure this plague?

The plague wasn't as dangerous after 1350 because some people grew immunity and people paid more attention to cleaning. Antibiotics like streptomycin and tetracycline prevent the infection from becoming fatal. Vaccines are now available to prevent people from contracting this disease. Rodent control is extremely vital in places where the bubonic plague is spreading.

Closing

Looking at my report, I have to say.. it was LONG and HARD.. I went through so many articles my head hurt trying to read and process them all. From this experience, I learned much about writing a research paper. There was so much to complete I wasn't sure I was going to finish. Near the middle of the process, I felt extremely lazy. I didn't want to continue, but I pushed myself. I'm SO GLAD I'M DONE!! I'm happy with the results. I learned a great deal about the plague, the society of Medieval Europe, and a little of the Renaissance. I hope this report is interesting to you because I think it's a little dull. I also hope you learned something from reading this because I have.

Bibliograhpy

Texts Cited

McCabe, Suzanne. "Dark death: In 1347, a terrible plague brought death and destruction to Europe. (World History)." Junior Scholastic February 11, 2002: v104 i12 p18(4). 2002 Scholastic, Inc.

 Cowan, Mary Morton. "A WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. (Europe after Black Death of fourteenth century) ." Calliope March. 2001: v11 i7 p26. COPYRIGHT 2001 Cobblestone Publishing, Co.

 Shively, Ann and Shively, Jim. "A CHANGE BORN OF DEATH. (influence of Black Death on European civilization)(Brief Article) ." Calliope March. 2001: v11 i7 p24. COPYRIGHT 2001 Cobblestone Publishing, Co.

Feld, Evelyn Dana. "THE CHURCH'S ANSWER. (plague in the Middle Ages)." Calliope March. 2001: v11 i7 p20. COPYRIGHT 2001 Cobblestone Publishing, Co.

"Black Plague. (also known as the Bubonic Plague and the Black Death in Europe)." Monkeyshines on Health and Science: Biology January. 2002: p8(1). COPYRIGHT 2002 Monkeyshines Publications

I-Search Journal

Posted by HELEN_L, 2/25/03 at 10:06:34 AM.

2/21/03, Friday

Today I looked over my topics and went to the San Francisco Catalog to search for books. I typed in "zits" and found some books that had information on the topic and things like that. Hygiene stuff. I went to another place and found a whole article on snails and slugs. At this point I am unsure of my topic and I'm just looking around. I don't know what to write and there seems to be nothing I'm interested in. I posted my findings in my I-search notes.

2/25/03, Tuesday

Today I started my research journal and typed what I did in it. I still don't know what topic I want to write about.

2/27/03

Today we went into the lab and searched for articles that were "just right". (You know, the kind of article that isn't too challenging for you or too easy..I think.) I posted some more articles on various topics into my I search notes.

3/6/03, Thursday

Today we went into the computer lab and read our article paragraphs and tried to remember important points. I came in and tried to delete some of my notes because I decided I didn't want to write my I search on some of those topics. I couldn't so I had to remember the main points of those too. I just got through 3 paragraphs and I helped Lily. I was frustrated and got kind of a late start. I want to do my I-search on two topics that are both diseases. The bubonic plague and acne. So now I'm focusing on those two. The assignment was boring because I tried to remember stuff about Alzheimers and the language was totally confusing.Trying to monitor your understanding is hard too. You have the screen in front of you and its hard not to look. I also think the Alzheimers article was a bit challenging and I wasn't intersested in it. IT WAS SOO BORING!

3/7/03 Friday

Today we did the same thing yesterday but I was successful in deleting some articles. I left the Alzheimers article since I'd already got the main points. I did a little bit with the Lyme disease things. It was pretty easy because the language wasn't as complicated as the other article.

3/10/03

Today we did the same thing with summarizing our notes. I help Lily and I found that she knew the stuff pretty well already. I didn't want to continue with the Lyme disease and the ticks so I skipped down to the BLACK DEATH. It was very gory and disgusting. But quite interesting. It was pretty hard to summarize because it was already in simple language that I would have used. It was very...(sorry ran out of time and I forgot what I was going to say.)

3/11/03

It was kind of boring today.. I didn't get all that much done. I forgot to make 5 interesting questions for my new topics so I started on that. I made a new story and posted my questions. Then I helped Lily with her article.

3/13/03

Today we got a slow start because of the server. It kept on not loading and it was a bit frustrating. We made an I-Search Checklist and made comments on how far we've gotten. I went and found more articles on Info Trac about the bubonic plague. I got A LOT of notes! It's not exactly a good thing but.. oh well.

3/14/03

I went to Stanford today so I wasn't in class. I'm at home right now and I just found more articles about my topics. I posted them on my blog and I'm going to transfer them here now... InfoTrac was kind of slow. I had to refresh often.

3/25/03

I haven't written in a while because the server and all. I spent most of today finding sites on my topic and I created a new story for my notes because there are too much. http://www.about-acne.com/ <--a website I was planning to use but never did..ahahah.

3/28/03

There has been a lot of excitement this week with the bomb threats and bank robberies...I didn't have a chance to type in my journal and so yeah. Last time, I spent most of my time getting the main points from my notes on the bubonic plague. I continued doing so today. I hope I finish. But guess what? I didn't. I'll have to do the same for my acne notes. ARRRRRRGGH!! So much to do, so little patience. What a bother....

4/4/03

Today was cap and gown pictures and it looks like the server is working again. Hurrah. Anyway, I haven't been able to write in my journal.. Today, I'm about to summarize some more notes. I'm also in a hurry to finish my letter to George Bush...I'm still summarizing the article and I'm almost finished. Then I will have to start on my other notes. Ugh.. My eyes hurt.

4/8/03

I was going to write a journal entry yesterday and the day before that but yesterday, I ran out of time because i was summarizing notes and then when I posted, it didn't come out, so I lost some work. Darn those PROXY report things! ARRGH! Anyway, so I did it over and this time I copied it to a clipboard and it didn't work again! Since it was on a clipboard I pasted it in and I posted. It worked but I ran out of time. The other day, I saved it on the desktop but when I came back, it was deleted and gone! So now I'm rushing to type this. Today, I summarized some  more notes! I'm very close to being done. but guess what? I have a whole 'nother section to summarize.  Got to go and log off. I hope this posts.`

4/9/03

Finally, I get to write in my journal on time. Today, we had our eyes tested and we had to write a story with our vocabulary words so we didn't have all that much time. I created a new story about some people I could possibly interview but I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to get to interview them. I picked some people and answered questions. I also finished summarizing exactly one paragraph. I have a lot more to go. Uggh. I don't have that much time.

Guess what? It is 9:00 and I just finished summarizing my bubonic plague notes! YES!! I also finished part of my bibliography although that isn't the final format. I looked over my acne notes and changed some things. Originally, I was going to summarize and get the main points from there also, but looking at how much text there is, I 'm thinking I might just leave it as it is and do my best when I begin writing my I-searches. Ugh. I'm tired...

4/23/03

The second day of CST testing. I am tired. I didn't get a chance to go on on Monday and I was too lazy to work on this during Spring Break. (In truth I forgot completely about the I-search project.) Today I tried to summarize my other notes and we had to make interview questions. I made the page but only succeeded in making 4 questions.

4/29/03

Today was the CST social science test. I came in, read the lesson and created a new story "ISearch Report" and posted it to my name page. Afterwards I started summarizing some more notes (that's all I seem to be doing these days) and like very soon, it's time to go. I tried to post, but guess what? It didn't. I had copied it before so I pasted it and tried again. Same problem. So I was like "forget it."  and I left. I came home and worked on it for like half an hour and now I back and I worked on summarizing some more. Thank goodness it posted. I have to go to sleep now.

5/6/03

Hurray! I finally finished summarizing all my notes. I'm not sure what to do with the websites. SO MANY OF THEM! I guess I thought I needed a lot of information... Anyway I worked on some of it over the weekend. Today I wrote an introduction to the Bubonic Plague..it's okay. Then I started working on my bibliography. Have to go now.

5/12/03

I should have written in my journal a lot of times. I always seem to forget or run out of time. Today we took that reading test in the lab. I think I did okay.. Anyways, I'm beginning to work on my report. I began answering my IQs on the bubonic plague. It is kind of hard. I don't really know what information to include... I started to look around for some of my websites on the bubonic plague.. strange, I couldn't find them.. I must have deleted them. I have enough information anyways. I finished summarizing my other notes! I am so happy I finally got it done.. The bibliography is taking sort of long... It's kind of difficult but yeah. I don't know what I'm going to do for the interview. I really don't have much to say in the journal. I take a lot of time doing one thing and there isn't really much to describe. I'm not really frustrated.. just really pressed for time..ok.. I'll work some more on my report now..

5/15/03

Today I made the revision conference story and then continued to write my report. It went pretty well. I was answering one question and then I sort of changed another one because I had a lot of information on that. I was so busy trying to post and stuff and at the end, when it was almost time.. guess what? the site messed up and took really long. I couldn't even post. So I didn't have time to write in my journal so yeah. I worked on my I-search on Monday and Tuesday at home too. I got home and sort of filled in a little more information. It went alright. I'm not really know how to organize it.. I'm just going with the flow... hhaha. I have to go now.. no time. Today I also added some pictures.. It was quite a lot of work.. ahh.. that's it for today. I'm really tired.. going to go to sleep.. almost 10:00. hhaha

5/19/03

Today I continued to work on my report on the bubonic plague.. I'M ALMOST FINISHED!!! THANK THE GOODNESS!!! I'm so glad. Oh...darn.. I'll have to work on my bibliography too.. I worked a little on my i-search on Saturday. I got a little bit done then. I'll have to do a revision conference too. I don't think I'll need to change all that much. I was pretty carefull with writing it because it took so long to do and I didn't want to read it again. ok..i got one minute.. bye.. i might work on this tonight.

5/20/03

Today I finished more of my report. I typed up my closing.. it was kind of long. I was mostly complaining in there. I also made the title page. I went on google and searched for some more images. I had to wait awhile to post because the server messed up again. I was relieved when it finally worked. I posted more pictures and stuck them in my report. Amy's supposed to revise mine but I don't think she's ready. I'll revise hers when she's done.

5/21/03

I am finally done.. got my revision conference, added a banner thingie, revised my intro  a little.. now i'm waiting for ms. Turnbull to proofread.. I hope I won't have to make a whole lot of changes. I fixed up my intro a little bit and added some side comments to spice it up a bit too. I don't know, my report looked kind of boring so I messed around with font, color, and size. It still looks boring. I don't really feel like working on my other report.. lazy haahh. Ah... just now, I just finished reading my ALL my journal entrys and fixing all the mistakes, adding a few comments here and there, capitalizing all the I's, and stuff.. I'm finished.. When I read over them, I never knew I complained so much..hahah. Anyways I didn't really keep up with my journal very well.. oh well too late.. I have to go now.

5/23/03

The I-search is due today! Yesterday I corrected some spelling errors on my I-search. I kept on spelling "corpses" like "corpes".. I'm still not sure if I spelled it correctly. Today I did a little work on my other I-search on acne. I have A WHOLE LOT to do. I'm just glad I finished at least one. I think I might finish over the weekend my other one..that is, if I remember.