loud and unbearable sounds would drive the plague away. There seems to be no evidence that any medical doctor saved a patient with the plague. Medical doctors of the time believed the only method to get rid of the disease were bloodletting. Bloodletting is the draining of blood believing that if enough could be let out the disease would be forced out. Since the medical doctors did not know anything about sterilization, they would often use the same scalpel on several patients possibly aiding the spread of the disease. The immediate effect of the plague on communities was devastating. Families and friends were set against each otherthe well rejected the sick. Some people withdrew from all contact with others, hoping to avoid getting the dreaded disease. As the disease became more and more widespread, many people wanted to have a final confession or write up their last will and testament, but the priests and lawyers would not even get close enough to them to do it. Law hardly existed any longer in some areas due to the death of judges and administrators. The crime rate radically increased resulting much chaos and havoc through out the land. The Black Plague not only struck creating much disaster and havoc, but also created numerous changes in Europe. Population was the most noticeable change. The Black Death took twenty-five million lives, at a time when Europes total population was only around sixty million, between 1347 and 1350. The total overall population loss in Europe was calculated to about one-third. In the year 1000 AD., the estimated population of Europe was 38 million people. In one century, 1100 AD., the population increased to about million people. The population continued to increase until 1347. In 1347, the total estimated population was 75 million people. This increase of population came to a drastic halt due to the Black Death. Between the years 1347 and 1352 twenty five million people died. The ...
