Responses to plague - ordinary people
Since the Black Death, bubonic plague had continued to return to Britain. There were major outbreaks every 20 years on average, right up until the Great Plague of 1665. People still did not understand what caused plague. The disease continued to have a devastating effect, especially in towns.
Symptoms and impact
As with the Black Death, it was usually bubonic plague that struck in this period. It was caused by a bite from a flea carrying the disease. Symptoms included:
- hard, pus-filled swellings (also known as buboes) in the groin or armpit
- blotches under the skin
- a high temperature and severe headaches
The victim usually died within days. Only one in five people who caught the plague survived. The impact on families and local communities could be overwhelming. Over 30 per cent of a community might be wiped out within a single year.
Early modern beliefs about the plague
| Beliefs carried over from the medieval period | Changes in beliefs from the medieval period |
| God was sending the plague as a punishment. | Cats and dogs spread miasma on their fur. |
| It was spread by foul air, or miasma, caused by filthy streets or stagnant water. | Towards the end of the early modern period, people put more emphasis on the idea that the disease spread through close contact with other people. |
| The movement of the planets turned the air bad, creating miasma. |
| Beliefs carried over from the medieval period | God was sending the plague as a punishment. |
|---|---|
| Changes in beliefs from the medieval period | Cats and dogs spread miasma on their fur. |
| Beliefs carried over from the medieval period | It was spread by foul air, or miasma, caused by filthy streets or stagnant water. |
|---|---|
| Changes in beliefs from the medieval period | Towards the end of the early modern period, people put more emphasis on the idea that the disease spread through close contact with other people. |
| Beliefs carried over from the medieval period | The movement of the planets turned the air bad, creating miasma. |
|---|---|
| Changes in beliefs from the medieval period |
There was still no understanding of the role of rats and fleas in how the disease was spread.
Responses to the plague
As was the case in the Middle Ages, people were terrified of the disease. They responded by trying to avoid or cure the plague in many different ways:
- Families and friends tried to help each other by bringing food to their sick neighbours and relatives.
- However, people wanted to avoid the sick. Sometimes infected children, servants or lodgers were thrown out of their homes.
- People tried to avoid Smells from decomposing material, such as animal and human waste, that were thought to cause disease. by sniffing flowers and herbs.
- People prayed to God and fasted to repent of their sins. As a result, church attendance increased during this time.
- The rich would often move out to the countryside if plague hit their town.
- There were no treatments that worked, but people tried various lotions and herbal remedies. Those who could afford it visited an Someone like a modern-day chemist, apothecaries understood both the healing and poisonous properties of plants and herbs. or plague doctor. A plague doctor was a physician who wore a heavy cloak and a mask with a âbeakâ filled with sweet herbs.
- The process of bleeding a patient, either by using leeches or by cutting into a vein. to rebalance the Four bodily fluids â yellow bile, black bile, blood and phlegm â used in ancient times to analyse and describe people's state of health. carried on as before.