s were transported by caravan across the northern Arabian Peninsula to the Levantine Coast. The third route also was primarily by sea and emanated from south Asia. (Gottfried 35) Goods were carried across the Indian Ocean, around the southern Arabian Peninsula past Yemen, and into the Red Sea. At the end of each route Italian merchants would carry goods by ship to Italy, southern France, and Catalopnia, where they where taken overland into northern Europe. (Gottfried 35) Historians debate which of the three routes contributed the most to the spread of the Black Death.In 1347, very little was known about the plague except that it was contagious and it was killing thousands of people each day. Many people produced remedies thought to be cures that actually never worked. One of the cures involved rubbing an ointment, made from Armenian Clay, an iron oxide which possessed healing properties, into the victim around the area of their lymph nodes. (Gottfried 115) The victim would also drink fruit juice while being treated. This very rarely worked. In todays society, there is a vaccination, although it is not present in the United States. The vaccine lasts for six months and decreased mortality by seventy five percent. Once a person encounters an infected person the symptoms of the Black Death should show up within 2-6 days depending on how seriously infected the person was. Once the Yersinia pestis enters the bloodstream, it travels to the liver, spleen, kidneys, lungs, and brain. (Janis 4) Several symptoms helped doctors identify the disease. Symptoms included shivering, vomiting, headaches, giddiness, intolerance to light, pain in the back and limbs, and a white coating on the tongue. Eventually, after the initial signs, pain occurs in the groin, armpits, and neck. The reason for this pain is the swelling of the lymph nodes called boboes, hence the name bubonic. (Janis 4) After the hardening of the lymph nodes the blood vesse...
