The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history that decimated half of Europe’s population in the 1300s. It’s hard to imagine that something as devastating as the Black Death could lead to anything positive, let alone something like the Renaissance.
Then how did the Black Death lead to the Renaissance?
The Black Death forced people to confront the harsh realities of life. It forced them to understand diseases and question the superstitions which had prevented this plague from spreading and killing.
In this article, we’ll review the changes that took place in Europe in the wake of the Black Death and understand how they fueled the Renaissance. We’ll also see how the Black Death while kindling the Renaissance, also slowed its spread across Europe.
What was the Black Death?
The Black Death was a devastating pandemic that swept through Europe in the late-1300s. It was caused by a bacteria known as Yersinia pestis and it spread through fleas, rats, and other vermin. It affected the lymph nodes and was called the Black Death because the affected lymph nodes would turn black.
The Black Death is estimated to have killed between 75 and 200 million people in Europe, or about half of the population. Corpses were burned in the streets, hundreds at a time, and people rightly felt that the end of the world was upon them.
No one was spared this pandemic – young, old, rich or poor. Not surprisingly many assumed that the Black Death was a sign of God’s displeasure. People assumed they were going to die and started cleansing their souls and making amends for sins committed. The wealthy commissioned magnificent works of art to please God. An example, are the beautiful bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery right opposite the Duomo.
(Credit: Bradley Weber CC-BY-2.0)
Since no one knew what caused the plague or how to get rid of it, this was also a time of experimental treatment. Some doctors suggested that foul air was causing the illnesses and so people started adding perfumes and strong scents to their bodies, clothes, furniture and everything around them. A common product used was Vinegar. Naturally, this did not work.
By the time the Black Death reached its peak roughly between 1346 and 1353, the Renaissance had already started in Florence. The Black Death led to a change in European thought and that fueled the growth of the Renaissance.
How Did The Black Death Lead to the Renaissance?
Technically, the Renaissance had already started when the Black Death reached its peak in the mid-1300s. The pandemic did lead to a change in the way people thought about life, death, religion, and their place in the world. This change of thinking fueled the Renaissance long after the peak of the pandemic had subsided.
There are three main ways in which the Black Death affected the Renaissance. First, at the peak of the Black Death, it slowed the Renaissance as artistic creativity was not a priority for a population that was sure it was dying.
Secondly, the Black Death slowed the spread of the Renaissance to Northern Europe. And finally, as we’ve discussed above, the Black Death led to a change of thinking that fueled the growth of the Renaissance.
Here are the top ways that the Black Death impacted the Renaissance:
- The Black Death at its peak slowed the Renaissance’s momentum
- The Black Death slowed the spread of the Renaissance to Northern Europe
- The Black Death resulted in the commissioning of art to please God
- The Black Death created a desire to understand diseases and human health
- The Black Death forced people to think philosophically and explore the meaning of life and death
Let’s now look closely at each of these.
#1. The Black Death at its peak slowed the Renaissance’s momentum
At first, the Black Death worked as a break on the Renaissance as it took away resources and people that would have otherwise been dedicated to the arts. People were also preoccupied with how to survive the pandemic. Artist creativity took a back seat.
The Black Death killed without discrimination and many artists succumbed to the disease. For instance, the brothers Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti of Siena both died of the plague. Siena suffered significant losses during the peak of the Black Death losing 30-40% of its population and never recovering to its former glory.
#2. The Black Death slowed the spread of the Renaissance to Northern Europe
The spread of the Renaissance and its ideas from Italy to the rest of Europe was through people. When artists migrated from the south to the north they took their ideas and skills with them. When artists from Northern Europe came to Italy to study or work, they often returned to their home countries to spread the ideas of the Renaissance.
But the Black Death slowed this migration of people across Europe and with its slowed the spread of the Renaissance to Northern Europe.
#3. The Black Death resulted in the commissioning of art to please God
In times of hardship and suffering, people turn to religion. It was no different during the Black Death when people were already more religious than they are in our times. Many people also believed that the plague was a sign of God’s displeasure with humans.
In response, many works of art were commissioned to the glory of God. As we saw earlier in this article, the city of Florence commissioned Lorenzo Ghiberti to create the remarkable gates of the Florence baptistery to please God and protect the city from the pandemic.
Unfortunately, this did not stop the plague from reaching Florence but it did leave the world with a magnificent piece of art that even Michelangelo referred to as the Gates of Paradise.
#4. The Black Death created a desire to understand diseases and human health
One of the ways that the Black Death fueled the rise of the Renaissance was through its promotion of scientific inquiry. People, especially doctors and scientists, began to study how diseases spread in order to protect themselves from the plague.
This would lead to a greater understanding of how infections are transmitted and how human bodies react to them. Up until the Renaissance, the most sophisticated medical treatment was bloodletting which in most cases killed patients gathering than curing them.
But when it became clear that the Black Death was not an act of God’s wrath, scientists and doctors realized that a new thought process based on a spirit of inquiry, questioning, and scientific methods was needed to better understand the human body, diseases, and medicines.
In this way, the Black Death would sow the seeds which would eventually make the Renaissance lead to the Scientific Revolution centuries later.
#5. The Black Death forced people to think philosophically and explore the meaning of life and death
If anything, The Black Death forced people to think more philosophically. People were forced to pause and contemplate how fragile life was in the face of natural disasters like the plague, how death affected their lives, how they should live life with meaning and purpose, how societies should be structured, and so on.
This shift from religion as a source of morality to philosophical thinking would eventually lead to the birth of Humanism. Humanism was the underlying philosophy of the Renaissance which rejected religious dogma and believed that people could find morality from within themselves.
So, just as during the depths of the Black Death people turned to religion for hope, once they emerged from the jaws of death, they would turn away from religion to look for answers elsewhere.
The Bottom Line
The Black Death and the Renaissance coexisted with the latter adding fuel to the changes in European society that were leading to the latter.
While the Black Death at first slowed down the progress of the Renaissance, it eventually helped create a mindset that triggered a chain reaction leading to an unprecedented explosion of creativity and productivity.
The Renaissance would have happened without the Black Death but would it have been as profound? It’s hard to tell. But, for certain, the Black Death accelerated a series of changes in Europe that ultimately led to the rapid growth of the Renaissance.
References
The Lasting Consequences of Plague in Siena – Ryan S. David – Montana State University.