The Bubonic Plague

An Illness Spread Like Fire

The plague started off in Asia, popping up every so often when fleas were especially bad. Of course, this is around the time international trading was becoming a big thing, with Romans often traveling there for rare and expensive silk. (Which was only that way because China refused to tell others how they got it, declaring it a national secret.) Black rats, which were native in these southeastern countries, carried the infected fleas in their fur, and when the trade ships went back to Europe, they hadn't the slightest clue about how dangerous their rodent passengers were.

The plague spread like wildfire, quickly becoming an epidemic throughout Eurasia and some of the middle east. Entire cities were being wiped off the map, and as humans typically do, they blamed the Jews for their misfortunes. Practicing Judaism was then illegal, punishable by death, so they fled as refugees to the only place that accepted them: Current day Poland. Of course, the only reason the sickness spread so quickly was mostly due to their lack of hygiene, and seeing as how the Jewish generally bathed on a more frequent basis than those of other religions, usually didn't get it often.

The Black Death, like previously stated, spread quickly. It spread through mucus, saliva, touching an infected individual's bubo (though I haven't the faintest idea as to why you would want to do that,) and, of course, fleas. However, another key event that lead to it's hasty spreading is the Mongols, a ruthless group trying to conquer Asia southeastern Europe, which they used the plague to their advantage. Biological warfare, a method dating back centuries, and though it is neither new nor old, per se, it is definitely cruel to those who are its victim. They flung the corpses of diseased individuals into towns or cities they were fighting, throwing them into a panic and getting some sick. This type of warfare is definitely for the chaotic evil types of military. 

Now, did they ever find a cure? Actually, not really. People today are still dying from the plague, mostly in developing countries, because there isn't really a way to get rid of it. However, it is treatable to an extent, and there is a much more likely chance for someone to live now than back then. Oddly enough, one would think a cure would exist by now, seeing as they have been trying since it first really struck around 1000 AD in Asia, but both Plague Doctors and current doctors aren't equipped with dealing with such a brutal force.

Oh, yes, Plague Doctors are the doctors specifically hired for treating the infected. Most didn't even study medicine, just people who were willing to get around the sick people, and out of the seven original plague doctors from Italy, six of them died by the plague itself. (The seventh, I believe, died from another ailment.) Plague Doctors are characterized by their long coats, bird beak shaped masks, and canes used for inspecting the sick. They wore those masks to protect them from "bad air," which is what they believed spread the plague at the time, by putting scented herbs in the front of the mask. Their canes were used to treat infected individuals and perform autopsies, and due to the strong religious power back then, they were the only ones allowed to "disturb the dead" to try to find a cure.

Plague doctors were often considered bad omens, meaning if one was spotted in your city, your death was practically imminent. Mass graves were used to deal with the large number of deceased people, and when there was no more room, they typically chucked the bodies in a river or burned them. Everyone believed this was caused by the wrath of God, and were fearing the end of humanity.

Buboes, or the big, black bumps that appeared on victims, form when the virus travels through the lymphatic vessels and swells the lymph nodes. They typically appear around the armpits and genitalia, and are the telltale sign someone has the plague. 

(This is incomplete and will be continued on a later basis. I will also eventually sort the information into a more presenting paper.)