[History] The Failing Religion of the Medieval Ages & Black Death
corrupted religion, big deal
What we are going to cover
- Religion in the Middle Ages
- Black Death & the Rise ‘n Fall of the Chruch
- The Recurring Theme of Deceit & Deception in The Decameron
What is the Black Death?
I believe everyone knows this, however allow me to define it in simple bullet points:
- The Black Death was a terrible disease rampage throughout Europe from 1347 to 1350
1.How did it started?
- The plague was believed to origin from Asia and traveled to Europe along the Silk Road. (ancient trade route/marco polo)
- Others believed the disease was carried by fleas and rats that made their way to Europe by merchant ships.
- Otherssss believed it was the filthy humans that either carried the disease or made the situation worse.
2. How bad was it?
- 1/3 of the European population died and that is just a safe estimation. Probably more died.
- Sometimes entire towns or villages were wiped out by the plague.
- There were so many corpses that they couldn’t give them a proper burial, massive pits were dug to throw these bodies in.
- Much of the infrastructure of Europe was gone when the Black Death finally subsided. It’s estimated that it took around 150 years for Europe to rebuild.
Imagine this…
Well…you know how people search for a sanctuary when their life suck and they are so gullible they are willing to try out any remedies. I mean, it doesn’t hurt right?
Imagine yourself during the Middle Ages. Black smoke everywhere and dust is falling from the sky or is it the ashes of your family? Everywhere you lay your eyes on, people are sobbing leaving tear streaks on their grim, dirty faces. Red Xs are drawn on the doors nailed shut from the outside, you hear people crying and pounding the walls in the houses yet you couldn’t do anything…
People living in the Middle Ages understand the brevity of human life and the transitory nature of life on earth. People were constantly reminded that their lives could end at any moment because of the rapidness the plague spreads. As the mortality rate rises, people became infatuated with salvation and their fate in the afterlife.
Life is short.
Life is unpredictable.
Life is desperate.
Reasons of the Plague (according to people then)
- Rumors around you inform you that the Black Death was a divine punishment released to perish the sinners by God. People refer back to the Bible and it seems to be a probable answer….
“If you do not obey God…, the Lord will plague you with diseases.” Deuteronomy 24
- Another reference is from The Book of Revelation and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse — pestilence, war, famine and death.
Check the article linked to know more.
- Others have similar sentiments that the plague was caused by the wickedness of humanity and was a cure for social fragmentation and sin.
Boccaccio, the writer of The Decameron, seemed to hold this belief. Boccaccio condemns people who fled from the city, he derides them “, It was though they imagined that the wrath of God wouldn’t unleash this plague against men for their iniquities irrespective of where they happened to be.”
- And yes, the marginally isolated group always take the blame, apparently it is the “prideful” women and “fraudulent” Jews that brought the plague. (?
And as a desperate Middle Age person what will you do?
So… What do this have to do with the Church?
All these religious and political factors add up to allow the people to believe they need to win God’s forgiveness to overcome the plague. The Roman Catholic Church loved that and they urged people to come and pray, they even organized religious marches pleading to God to stop the pestilence.
Religion in the Middle Ages is seemingly dominated by the Catholic Church but it didn’t monopolized the entire society. Pagan beliefs were prevalent in the early Middle Ages, heard of the bizarre treatments for the Black Death, yep that’s probably them. (even though the church is pretty into spells and potions at that time too…
Despite those Christianity propaganda, the Catholic Church is, matter of fact, declining in power. The Church had gradually become more secular as its focus was on the wealthy and political moguls.
BUT! Look how I said “church” not Christianity? The majority of Europeans did not experience a decline in their faith in God, but in the institution of the Church.
Who are the clergy?
The clergy were significant members of medieval society since they are the liaison between the laity(common people) and the Church. They provide doctrines of divine right and salvation for the basis of feudalism and feudal society. The Church was organized in a strict hierarchical structure and that structure still persist to this day. Since the Church was the only centralized institution surviving the Fall of Rome they played an important rule in spiritual guide and the restoration of the government.
Members of the clergy were monks and religious official who obtained the Holy Order and appointed to the Church. They were expected to follow the bonds of religious rule under the leadership of a religious superior. Celibacy of the clergy was practiced since Pope Gregory VII published his encyclical, yet it wasn’t until the First Lateran Council in 1123 that celibacy was forced on the religious sector.
The deterioration in the quality of its clergy was evident even before the Black Death hit, with the plague it’s only amplified, many parnish priest fled their position since they were just as powerless against the plague as the ordinary laymans. The massive depopulation caused by the Black Death is also a major factor to the harmed quality of the Roman Catholic. Churches can no longer maintain the quality in their people as they were forced to accept everyone.
I mean, 1/3 of the population is gone, having someone is better than nothing right? Imagine only 100 people are left in the world, even I can study in Harvard or some Ivy League school right? (if education still exists then, oc)
It’s basically a take it or leave it situation. The Church found itself so decimated and in such a need of ecclesiastical labors that it was frequently forced to take in inexperienced and unskilled novice to fill the vacancies from the death toll of the plague.
In addition, the clergy started selling their church offices and spend their time drinking, gambling or secretly owning concubines.
People began to establish their own branches, still Christianity, without the authority of the Church, this weakened the Church even more. Ok here’s the fun part. Some cults believed they should be flogged in public to earn salvation from God, yeah.. so just people standing in the town center, whipping each other. Fun.
What does this have to do with The Decameron?
The Decameron is a collection of 100 novellas in a frame story by Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio. It’s a medieval allegorical work best known for its bawdy love tales. The Decameron is set during the rampant of the Black Death, featuring 10 different people — 3 male and 7 females — who escaped from the plague-ridden Florence to the countryside and each telling a story every night for 10 days.
10 x 10 = 100
(They actually stayed for 14 days but 1 day is used for sabbath another was used for chores. geez, T’m not gonna do my laundry if I’m there….)
The Decameron was meant to entertain and enlighten his readers, while caricatures of the clergy were common. Boccaccio reminded people to keep cautious of the religious members since they were no different with layman and the same lust and greed control their minds.
TL;DR Why is religion failing?
- Black Death decimated 1/3 of the population, quality is literally non-existent among the clergies.
- The Church sucks, so people start making their own Christian cults.
Papers & Sources
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. (2023, March 8). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse
Zentner, M. L. H. (2015). The Black Death and Its Impact on the Church and Popular Religion (dissertation).
Hanson, Marilee. “Life of Clergy in the Middle Ages” https://englishhistory.net/middle-ages/life-of-clergy-in-the-middle-ages/, January 12, 2022
