I have an essay due in roughly a month for Medieval History. Feedback or ideas?

Question

We were told to pick a topic without learning much about anything past the fall of Rome and the Barbarian invasions. I'm toying with "The Black Plague had the biggest impact of any empidemic". Good thesis or bad thesis? Also, what are some angles I can work on this besides loss of population affecting military size (and therefore the outcome of wars) and Justinian I consequently imposing laws stating a son must take up the career of his father to replace him in society? (Looking for medical/technological advancements and the like). Thanks!

This is a 2000 level University course essay, high schoolers need not apply unless they're autistic historical savants.

Answer 1

Excellant topic. An interesting angle that you might explore is the positive impacts of the Black Plague.

For example, the huge drop in population created a severe labor shortage which translated into greater bargaining power for the serfs, leading to the decline of the feudal system in Europe.

The same amount of wealth was shared by a substanially smaller population. This increased individual wealth translated into demands for luxury goods and the expansion of the merchant and tradesmen class... the roots of the bourgeois.

Finally all those dead people left a lot of old clothing laying around. At the time, rags were an essential ingrediant to the production of paper. The price of paper droped dramatically and the supply increased dramatically... which so happened to coincide with the invention of the printing press. Books and literacy increased substantially.

All of the above sounded the death knell of the Middle Ages and signalled the approaching Renaissance which would begin shortly thereafter... every cloud has a silver lining.

Answer 2

Well the thesis sounds like it has potential. A number of different things come to mind, particularly in the context of the economic and political changes. The History of Britain by Simon Schama discusses this, both the book and the BBC series based on the book. A WorldCat search for black plague and military produced Justinian's Flea, which approaches the subject from a medical, military and economic point of view.

Simon Schama's work discusses the change in the economic structure of Britain brought on by the change in population, that is survivors inheriting land, what happens to a serf who survives the epidemic his landlord did not, what happens when suddenly there are fewer people to harvest the crops that have to be brought in, or till the land that must be cultivated, etc.

There is some scholarship recently that conjectures that the plague of the 14th century was not bubonic plague, but something closer to ebola (hemorrhagic fever, etc.).

Check your full text databases for this kind of material.

Answer 3

Justinian should be used cautiously in this topic. Yes, there were huge plagues during his reign, enough to significantly impact population levels, but it's unclear that the major pandemic was Black (bubonic) Plague, which isn't documented in Europe unlit the 1300s.

Other impacts you can discuss beyond military are on trade and economic conditions. Certainly international commerce became harder due to the plague, since travel in general became more challenging. Also, the decrease in population left fewer people to work the land. There's evidence in many parts of Europe that the amount of land under cultivation decreased. In England, a shortage of serfs seems to have led at first to improvement of conditions, as landowners needed to actively recruit serfs. But that led to a Statute of Labourers in 1351 that reduced the few rights peasants had, and is generally regarded as a cause of the massive revolt of 1381.

There were also religious effects, from preachers asserting that the plague was punishment for whatever sins they were preaching against. There were even literary effects - Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis was written because an outbreak of plague caused all theatres in London to be closed.

Answer 4

If possible - find a family name that survived that goes back to just before the plague hit and write your paper from the perspective of one who lives through it. How does his/her life change - did they move - politically / socially, where was his family. How did the city change in how illness was handled - what were the social outcomes? Perhaps it would best be told on the "micro" scale rather than the "macro" scale that most will probably use.

Just some thoughts since the most interesting history class I every took was "Biography as History" while in college (long ago).

Best of luck.

Answer 5

i am horible with Thesis.
atleast i think so i would say something along the lines of This paper examines the effects that the Black Plague had on europe, such as....
i dunno its a start.
also the Black Plague positivly effected the economy because as people in the lower class died. the demand for servants and jobs of the lower class went up and so did the pay wages for the lower class. You could also argue it the other way that it was negitive because the decline in lower class population led to less food because the lack of people working in the fields.

also balck plague one of the huge reasons for the end of feutalism and the start of comercialism.

Answer 6

you have a lot of homework/research cut out for yourself, maybe you can find some movies or books (I'm sure in this era) it sounds really interesting,,i wish i had some more advice to give you,,,,I'm sure you'll find some good web sites,,,i had some much more intelligent information when i started this now I'm drawing a blank it's after midnight here and I'm so tired go see that knew movie "Elizabeth the golden age" wait i think that's after that, sorry i don't feel like Ive been much help ttyl good luck

Answer 7

Look at the improvement of weapons use in the time period between two waring factions, the advantage and disadvantage in the type of battles.

Answer 8

Also, superstition played a part. Cats were thought to be evil and were killed off causing the rat and flea problem.