Fear and anguish brought out some of the worst qualities in the villagers causing them to turn against one another creating anger, conflict and damage unto one another. In turn these actions fueled by superstition, hysteria and ignorance could become just as fatal as the plague itself. The bubonic plague attacks many individuals in the village as it delivers continuous grief and loss to the whole town. Brooks structures her novel as a non-linear timeline as it jumps backwards and forwards starting after the events of the plague giving hints of what has caused the change in the community. Undoubtedly, the plague causes the disintegration of families in the town.
The Black Death had a huge impact on all aspects of Medieval society. The peak of the Black Death resulted in a huge population loss for the city of London, and all over the world. Treatments and theories about the causes of the plague were prevalent in many aspects of life. Initially many believed plagues to be the result of evil spirits. For this reason, people would often huddle together to keep the spirits away.
The Black Death The Black Death, known as the Black Plague, or the Bubonic Plague killed one third of the population of Europe during the 13th and 14th centuries. The beginning of this plague set the scene for years suffering. It left the social and economic world in pause. The Black Death became a subject of art, music and folklore and it influenced the mind of the people. The impact of this mass killer caused disorder to the medieval society because of its unknown origin, the unknown causes and preventions, its deathly symptoms and its breakdown of life.
The terrible disease caused not only massive numbers of deaths, but also caused many minority groups to be blamed and persecuted for "causing" the Black Death. The symptoms were a bubo in the groin, where the thigh meets the trunk; or a small swelling under the armpit; sudden fever; spitting blood and saliva. It was such a frightful thing that when it got into a house, as was said, no one remained. There was so much death destruction that bodies would just be lying around and there was no place to bury them. People might as well fear that if they touch the bodies to bury them then they themselves would also get the disease and die.
(Peschke 2007) In European society the Church was a symbol of authority and power; local clergymen were considered representatives of the Pope and God himself. During the crisis of the Black Death Clergymen and other Church representative were dying just like everyone else. In some places Clergymen and Church representatives fell victim even more so, because many poor people who were infected would seek help and aid from Churches and Church based
Herot grew more and more deserted as the amount of homicides increased. Referred to as the shadow of death, Grendel offered neither truce nor any salvation. Hrothgar, king of Herot, remained in grief for twelve mournful years. Bloodthirsty, Grendel ferociously stalked Hrothgar's warriors, for now Grendel was the villainous ruler of Herot. The shadow of death, emerging from the darkness of night, relished his salvage war.
These themes were common in medieval funeral art and were seen to be very explicit. It reflected an increased obsession with death and decay. Memento mori is also the name given to paintings or sculptures that illustrate this theme. Usually featuring a skull, bones and sculptures were a common feature of tombs in churches in Europe during the late Middle Ages and early modern age. The dead usually requested that the sculpture be placed on their tomb as a warning to remaining family members to attend to the good of their souls.
But which was more significant? In this essay I will explain the two events and give my opinion on which event was more significant. The first of the two events was the Black Death. The Black Death was a terrible plague that happened in the 1300s. The disease spread from nation to nation, killing millions of people and seriously affecting their lives especially Britain.
2. Who/what is causing so much grief in Hrothgar’s kingdom? How many years has this battle with Grendel been going on? a. Grendel, the “evil creature, grim and hungry,” is the cause of all of the grief in Hrothgar’s kingdom. His killing and torture of the people saddens both the king and all of the people; “Bloody footprints were found.
It is evident when he states, “Every night I was oppressed by a slow fever, and I became nervous to a most painful degree; the fall of a leaf startled me, and I shunned my fellow creatures as if I had been quality of a crime” (Frankenstein 34). Victor had become obsessed because he was growing apart from the world and put all his energy into his monster. In the same manner, Macbeth’s ambition also became obsessive. In the beginning Macbeth had no plan to betray King Duncan and to take over the throne. However, all this changed when the three witches planted the seed of betrayal in him and when Lady Macbeth encouraged him to kill King Duncan and become king.