The
Black Plague took a huge toll on everyday community life. Once an actual "community,"
a town became a place where people shunned one another out of fear for their
own lives. The plague being spread throughout the towns of Europe was highly
contagious. In fact, according to Boccaccio's description,
"…touching the clothes of the sick or anything touched or used by them seemed to communicate this very disease to the person involved." [01]
With such a frightening thing as the plague to contend with, townspeople definitely changed their attitudes about community values. If two pigs could almost die instantaneously from rummaging through a few rags from a person infected with the plague, what chance did a human being stand? [03] The normal life expectancy of a human infected with the plague was three days.
"From these and many similar or worse occurrences, there came about such fear and such fantastic notions among those who remained alive that almost all of them took a very cruel attitude in the matter; that is, they completely avoided the sick and their possessions; and in doing so, each one believed that he was protecting his good health." [04]
The avoidance of fellow townspeople became more and more extreme as more and more people died. As time wore on, it became a difficult task to find anyone to tend to the sick. A very small number of nuns were selfless enough to stay in the city and care for the infected; it didn't take long for them to die and therefore decrease the number of people willing to tend to the sick. [05]
"The fact was that one citizen avoided another, that almost no one cared for his neighbor, and that relatives rarely or hardly ever visited each other-they stayed far apart. This disaster had struck such fear into the hearts of men and women that brother abandoned brother, uncle abandoned nephew, and -even worse, almost unbelievable - fathers and mothers neglected to tend and care for their children, as if they were nor their own." [06]
Each
person had different views of the plague - why it occurred and what they ought
to do about it. Religion affected many attitudes in that possibly God was
severely punishing one's town for a specific reason unknown to the townspeople
(This aspect will be covered in the "Theological"
section of the site). As far as what one was to do about the plague is concerned,
there appeared to be a few main options.
The first new lifestyle that many chose to follow involved forming very small groups. As a group, they would shut themselves away from the rest of the town and eat the best foods and drink the best wines. Overall, they chose to live modest lifestyles far removed from the plague-ridden town as a way of fending off the disease.
Another lifestyle choice many made was to essentially embrace life. Summing it up, Boccaccio said,
"…they believed that drinking too much, enjoying life, going about singing and celebrating, satisfying in every way the appetites as best one could, laughing, and making light of everything that happened was the best medicine for such a disease; so they practiced to the fullest what they believed by going from one tavern to another all day and night, drinking to excess; and often they would make merry in private homes, doing everything that pleased or amused them the most." [08]
This so called "doing everything that pleased or amused them the most" of course involved eating and drinking to whatever excess one saw fit. It also included a loosening of morals when it came to sex. This revolution in sexual freedom that was seen as a result of the plague began with women no longer being able to be choosy in who saw to their medical needs. In the time of the plague, as noted above, there were few that would tend to the sick. If an unknown man was willing to help a normally modest woman, she had no choice but to expose any part of her body necessary for medical attention.
Another important social aspect of the Black Death was the use of property. As Boccaccio describes,
"…everyone felt he was doomed to die and, as a result, abandoned his property, so that most of the houses had become common property, and any stranger who came upon them used them as if he were their rightful owner." [09]
This
demonstrates two important social consequences of the plague. It is important
to note that many people abandoned the town in an attempt to flee the rampant
disease that had infested it. The other aspect which it aided in was that
of living as frivolously and joyously as one pleased. To escape the plague,
some would travel from home to home, helping themselves to whatever was in
that home as if it were their own. This was all in an effort to escape the
plague, as well as to avoid truly settling down, which would hinder their
frolicking and indulgent ways of living.
Not all plague victims were created equal. There was a definite rift between the rich and the poor even in such a time of crisis. Boccaccio says,
"The entry of any sick person into the city was prohibited, and many directives were issued concerning the maintenance of good health." [11]
However, this was not necessarily the case. The entry of any sick poor person into the city might have been prohibited. The mourning of deceased plague victims may have been limited to stop the spread of disease. It is noted, though, that a "greater mourning display" could be erected for those with high positions, such as lawyers or judges, and those in high social classes. Aside from mourning rituals, the poor were tended to differently than those of higher social ranks. Where peasants and such were required to be sent to a lazaretti, or a "pest house," to be treated, the wealthy were most often allowed to be merely quarantined in their own homes to be tended to there. [12]
